Run Home, Comrade
by Dream Walker's Obsession
Summary: ALL HUMAN**Our favorite characters have grown up knowing each other their whole lives. Now high school is drawing to an end for Dimitri, Ivan, and Christian, while, the girls are still there for 2 more years. What will happen with the guys going off to college? What will become of Rose and Dimitri? *AU*
1. Chapter 1: Offers

_**Authors Note: This is my first time ever writing a fanfic. I haven't written anything in many many years. So please be kind. I look forward to hearing thoughts from everyone and I hope you enjoy. Right now i don't have a time frame for updating but hopefully it won't be too long. Thank you. Enjoy.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Unfortunately I own nothing but the plot, sad day :(**_

 _ **Chapter One: Offers**_

 _ **DPOV**_

"Mama, Mama it's here!", I exclaimed as I ran up the front porch steps into my childhood home. Mama was in the kitchen as always preparing dinner for the family.

"What is here Dimka?"

"A letter from Rice University!" Rice University is one of the top 5 schools when it comes to baseball. I have been playing my whole life. Since I was old enough to pick up a bat and glove. I have always loved the game, though some tell me they can't see the appeal of a game that is so long and all we do is hit a ball and run in a diamond shape. But I have always loved it, I've dreamed of standing on a Major League mound in the World Series, striking out the last batter to win the game.

"What are you waiting for!? Open it." Mama replied, she is just as excited as I am. We didn't grow up with much and the only way I would be able to go to college is on a Scholarship. I have been trying since grade school to keep my GPA up at a 4.0 and excel in sports. I have given up alot to keep my training and schooling up.

"Should I wait for the girls and Roza? They should be here when I open it."

"Open what Comrade?" Roza said, speak of the devil, she always has a way of showing up right when I need her too.

"I got a letter from Rice University, I wanted to wait for you to be here when I open it to see if I got in."

I had been speaking with recruiters and scouts almost everyday for the last 3 months. From California to Tennessee. Seems that there are several great schools out there that could give me the chance I am looking for. Christian and Ivan have been by my side applying to all the same schools. I wonder if they got letters from any yet. Rice is my first one, though not my top choice, but it would be nice to stay in Texas. Close to home, more importantly, close to My Roza.

Me and Roza have been officially dating for 3 years now, but we have been friends since the sandbox, literally. She was sitting all alone in the turtle sandbox at the park. My sisters and I had just arrived and were playing on the jungle gym. She looked so sad, I asked her if she was okay and if she wanted to play with us. She looked up at me with a gaze I couldn't quite name at the time, I would now say it could have been awe. Then she threw sand at me and told me to leave her alone. I didn't know it then, but that's the moment I started to fall in love with her.

She has been by my side through all the good and bad days. Never once has she faltered in being there for me or supporting me. Even when I beat my own father and kicked him out. When I was arrested with Ivan for hotwiring his cousins car and taking it for a joy ride. Even when Tasha cornered me at a party and forced a kiss on me. Her faith and trust has never waivered. I wonder what on earth I did to deserve her.

"Well.. What are you waiting for? Tear it open!", Roza said. She looked like a kid on christmas morning waiting to see what Santa had brought.

"Dear Mr. Dimitri Belikov, It is my privilege to inform you that your application for admission to Rice University has been approved." APPROVED! I continued to scan through the letter, please let it be there, "...it is with great pleasure that we offer you an instate reward for academics and athletics...total value of 275,000." I think I stopped breathing.

"Oh Comrade, this is amazing! I am so proud of you!" Roza said as she jumped on me. Wrapping her arms around my neck and legs around my hips she smothered me in kisses. I put my hands under her thighs and kissed her passionately. I can't believe I could have been so lucky. She pulled back before the kiss could get any more heated. Good thing I realized, I doubt mama wants to see me take Roza on the kitchen counter.

"I need to call Christian and Ivan and see if they got letters too." As soon as I reached for my phone it pinged with a text from Ivan. "CALL ME ASAP BELIKOV"

"Ivan, did you get a letter?"

"Yes, Full ride too! You?"

"Yupp! Have you talked to Christian?"

"Not yet, I wanted to check with you first. I'll call him."

"Hang on, Ivan. Roza can you call Lissa and see if she is with Christian?"

"Already on it, line is ringing now." Roza said, "Lissa are you at Christians...A letter from Rice University?...Well tell Sparky to hurry up and open it, Dimitri and Ivan got ones too and have already opened them…" Rose looked back at me and her eyes grew hearing Lissa next words. "Well tell him that's amazing anyways, he got in and will get some help with paying for it…I don't know Liss, but something is better than nothing. As for the first part, I am sure something can be worked out...They got full scholarships...Any others or just Rice?...Yea, Okay, Well tell him congrats from all of us...alright love you too Lissa."

I waited for Rose to hang up and put the phone down before I spoke, "He didn't get a full scholarship?"

"No, Lissa said they gave him 100,000 in academic scholarship but nothing for athletics. He's worried that he won't have a secured spot on the team since they didn't grant him for baseball. Oh and she said congratulations to you and Ivan."

I thought about the possibility of him not being on the team with us. We have been playing the game together since we were 5 on the tee ball field. Chris, Ivan and I were unbeatable, me on the mound, Ivan behind the plate and Chris on first. If they didn't hit passed the infield they didn't make it to second base. Surely, even if he had to walk on they would still give him a slot.

"Well, we applied to several together, we can sit down and figure out what we want to do after we get more offers." I looked at Rose and she had a look of deep thought. "What is it Roza?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love Chris, and if you tell him that I will hurt you, but please promise me you won't compromise _your_ choices and _your_ future just so y'all can stay together." I gave her a puzzled look but before I could speak she put up her hand and silenced me, "I know y'all have been playing together since you were little, but this is _YOUR_ future Comrade. You have to do what is best for you. Where you will have the best chance at achieving your dreams."

I just stared, I couldn't seem to form words to respond to that. My Roza has always been amazing, but now she was sounding so much like me and what she calls " My Zen Life Lessons". A grin broke across my face and I said the only thing I could, "I promise Roza."


	2. Chapter 2: Reality

_**Chapter Two: Reality**_

 _ **RPOV**_

"So Rose, What are you going to do when Dimka leaves for college? You going to stay with him or run to someone new as soon as he's gone?", Sonja said.

She is the only Belikova sister that has always hated me. I have known her since I was six years old and she, to this day, has it out for me. Even though Dimitri and I have been dating for three years and have been best friends for nine, she still doesn't think I am worthy of her little brother.

"Sonja you know I would never do that. Dimitri and I have been dating for 3 years and I have no intention of changing that at any point in time, ever!" I was honestly getting tired of her constant digs and comments about my relationship with Dimitri. Not to mention she is hitting a very strong nerve right now. I am well aware that he is leaving in 6 short months for college. I have been aware of it since the first day of school this year. His last first day of High School.

We have talked about college and where he is looking, much to my liking 2 of his top choices are in Texas. Meaning he would still be reasonably close and I could visit and go to his games. But I know his number one choice is in Tennessee. Vanderbilt University. It's a great school and they put out some of the best players in the Majors. But it is a bit farther than I would like, even if it's only by a few hours.

The size of Texas being what it is, it would take 4 hours to drive to Houston to Rice University. Driving to Tennessee would take roughly 10, but my over protective father won't let me drive out of state. I don't understand why, can't be any different than driving here right, it's not like I'd be driving through Russia. Just a different state, with different speed limits.

"Well, I will be keeping my eye on you Rose. Don't think for a second I am going to let you screw over my brother."

"Sonja, give it a rest. Don't listen to her Roza. We know you and Dimitri will be fine.", Karolina said coming to my rescue.

"Thank you Karo. I love him more than anything. I do worry about the 2 years we will be apart though. What if he meets someone and doesn't see the point of being with me anymore. I mean he will be in a whole new world at college and I will be here, still in high school." I have never been insecure in my relationship with Dimitri. We have always been two halves of a whole. I never worried or wondered if he would rather be with someone else. But now, now reality is setting in and I know there will be many different women from different places around him. What if I am no longer good enough, pretty enough? Will he leave?

"Roza, let me tell you a little secret," she leaned in real close to me, "Dimitri loves you more than his own life," she stepped back and laughed. "Which you know full and well. Don't worry about what if's, could, would or should. Just focus on what is. You are his and he is yours. End of story."

Sometimes the similarities from Karo and Dimitri astonished me. Going beyond just physical appearance, their personalities are almost identical. The both have the same humor, likes and dislikes and they both do really well with the "Zen Life Lessons". I gave her a tentative smile and nodded.

"Thanks Karo. Lets get home, your mama hates when were late for dinner."

It only took us ten minutes or so to get home from the restaurant Karo worked at. I meet up with her after school everyday and study while she works. Sonja comes when she gets off from the pharmacy and we all walk home together. I spend a lot of time at their house, even before me and Dimitri officially started dating. My parents are always out of town, so to prevent me from starving, Olena started making extra for dinner and it just became the normal.

We just opened the front door, I could hear my Russian god in the kitchen, talking to I assume was Olena. Saying something about waiting for me to open something. "Open what Comrade?" He hated that nickname I gave him when he was 10. I was 8 and learned that comrade was another word for friend, partner if you will, plus he's Russian and has his ridiculous obsession with the old west, it just fit. Or at least to me it did.

"I got a letter from Rice University, I wanted to wait for you to be here when I open it to see if I got in." He looked so eager to find out if he had been accepted, I was honestly shocked he wanted to wait for me. I don't have the patience he does, I would have torn it open by now.

"Well.. What are you waiting for? Tear it open!", I all but yelled at him. Secretly I was terrified for him. What if he didn't get in? What if they didn't give him a scholarship. I knew he couldn't afford college without financial help, and loans were such a hassell and would take forever to pay back. We were really counting on a scholarship to one of his top choices.

"Dear Mr. Dimitri Belikov, It is my privilege to inform you that your application for admission to Rice University has been approved." He was half talking half mumbling but I am sure he just said "Approved". He was scanning the letter, I knew what words he was looking for, as soon as I thought it, he read, "...it is with great pleasure that we offer you an instate reward for academics and athletics...total value of 275,000." I heard his breath hitch the same time mine did. That is all we were praying for. Now I hope Chris and Ivan got it too.

"Oh Comrade, this is amazing! I am so proud of you!", I jumped him, right there in the kitchen, throwing my arms around his neck and legs around his hips. I peppered his face in kisses. His hands grabbed under my thighs and kissed me passionately. Lord how I would have loved to not be in his mother's kitchen right now. Forcing myself I pulled back.

"I need to call Christian and Ivan and see if they got letters too." Dimitri phone chimed just then and I went to grab my own from my bag. I could hear him talking to Ivan so I started to dial Lissa. I knew she would be with Christian, those two were hardly ever apart, though me and Dimitri weren't any better.

"Hang on, Ivan. Roza can you call Lissa and see if she is with Christian?" Dimitri asked.

"Already on it, line is ringing now." I waited for the call to connect. "Lissa are you at Christian?"

Her voice came through like she had just ran a marathon, what were they doing? "Yea, I was just running to call you, guess what came in the mail today?"

"A letter from Rice University?", I was hoping it sounded like more of a statement rather than a question. I really hoped he got one.

"YES! He hasn't opened it yet, he's nervous."

"Well tell Sparky to hurry up and open it, Dimitri and Ivan got ones too and have already opened them." I heard a small gasp on the line, then a deep breath from Lissa.

"Well he was accepted, has a partial academic scholarship for 100,000, but nothing for athletics.", that's not what I expected to hear. Christian is extremely smart and talented. Wait did I just say that, is Sparky finally growing on me?

"Well tell him that's amazing anyways, he got in and will get some help with paying for it"

"Do you think this means he can't play, or they won't have a spot for him? How are we going to pay for the rest?"

"I don't know Liss, but something is better than nothing. As for the first part, I am sure something can be worked out."

"What did Dimitri and Ivan get?"

"They got full scholarships, Any others or just Rice?"

"Just Rice for now," she sighed heavily and I could hear Christian in the background talking about being a failure. He should know better, he got in, that is a huge accomplishment. Maybe they had to be selective on how much they could grant in a year. I will have to get Dimitri and Ivan to talk to him later. "Look, I've got to go, Chris is really upset."

"Yea, Okay, Well tell him congrats from all of us."

"I will, and pass our congrats onto Dimitri and Ivan would you. Love you Rose."

"Alright, love you too Lissa."

I filled Dimitri in on the other half of the conversation and he was just as shocked as the rest of us. But as I knew he would, he said they can choose later when the see what school offers them all the same thing. That has to be one of the top reason I love him so much. He is always willing to sacrifice and make changes to his life to benefit others, but not this time. This is his future and his life, well our lives. I didn't want him to make any decisions that could hinder his dreams and our future.

So I made him promise me that he would not make any choices that would compromise his future, just so they can stay together to play ball. He just grinned that beautiful smile and looked right into my eyes, "I promise Roza."


	3. Chapter 3: Choices

Authors Note: Just to clarify some things. This is 100% Romitri. Thank you looking through the horizon, for your review and to let you know as well as everyone else, this is a romance/drama between our 2 favorite lovebirds. Of course nothing in their lives is ever easy so there will be some drama and angst, but i do not intend for it to be primarily an angst story. I want to write that not all love stories are full of hardships, sometimes they just work. Now, without further ado, Chapter 3.

Oh and of course I don't own any of the sexy Russian or others for that matter. It really is a pity.

 _ **Chapter 3: Choices**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. We are now only 2 months away from graduation and have yet to decide what college we are going to. Roza and I have talked a lot about it and of course we both want to stay close to each other, but I feel like I am having to hold back. She told me not to compromise my choices for anyone, does that mean her as well? If I told her that I wanted to go to Tennessee or California, would she still be okay? Would she leave me once I took off or would she stay?

These questions have been plaguing my mind for the last 2 weeks. I had received letters from Vanderbilt, Rice, Texas Tech, University of Texas at Austin, California State, Louisiana State and University of Southern Mississippi. All are great schools and have an amazing baseball program.

Chris and Ivan had also received letters from all the same schools. Ivan with full offers in all, Chris with 2 full and 5 partial scholarships. We all wanted to stay together, and thought maybe we could work a deal with the recruiters to get Chris a full ride too. We hoped if we said mine and Ivan's decision was based on Chris being with us we could persuade one of them to give, right now only UT at Austin and University of Southern Mississippi were the ones all three of us had rides too.

We sat around a small table at our local coffee beanery, trying to figure out what we could do and what would be best for all of us. Soft jazz music playing in the background and the aroma of coffee beans filled every inch of the room. None of us spoke for a while after our coffees arrived. We sat in a somber silence racking our minds for any way to make it work.

Looking over my offer letters in my hand, I couldn't help but think, I know where I want to go. Only there were two main problems, I knew Chris couldn't afford the tuition even with the assistance he had been offered and Roza would be torn over the idea.

"This isn't going to work guys, you just need to pick one for the two of you and I will probably wind up at UT Austin. I don't want to leave the state and be away from Lissa, and Tech and Rice aren't going to cave in.", Christian said defeated. The look on his face made my heart hurt for him. We never thought in a million years we would be separated from the team.

"Chris you can't give up man. Besides, UT Austin isn't a bad school, we could all go there and take over the place.", Ivan was desperately trying to lighten the mood. "Think of it this way, we can stay in Texas, the girls are close, but not too close and we can party on 6th St at the clubs every weekend. We stay together, play the game and then all sign major contracts in the next 4 years."

As much as I wanted to agree with Ivan, well on some of it, I didn't want to go to UT. I really wanted to go to Vanderbilt, but that was 2 states away. Granted it's only a 10 hour drive on a bad day, and it's the number one school for baseball. They offered me a 100% tuition, room and board, plus an additional 15,000 per year for incidentals, my own room (which is rare for a freshman), a laptop for school and all the amenities I could wish for in the room. I really couldn't get a better deal than that. Rose knew how badly I wanted to go, she even encouraged me and did research to learn about the school and its layout and amenities. She says she is excited for me, but every time I look in her eyes I see fear and desperation. Fear of me leaving, leaving Texas and leaving her. Desperation for me to stay, to settle for a decent school with a decent program. Not that she would actually ask me to settle, but I know in her heart she really hopes I do. But I just can't, I can't give up the thought of what I could achieve at Vanderbilt. The education alone is enough to draw me there, but the fact that they lead the country for baseball, and all they are willing to give me just to play the game. How am I supposed to turn that down, hell, how can I even think of turning it down.

"Dimka, your awfully quiet, what are you thinking?", Ivan asked, he hardly ever calls me Dimka anymore. I can only imagine the look that's on my face to make him go back to my childhood nickname.

"You both know I want us to stay together, but I think I have decided.", taking a deep breath I looked down at my coffee, "I'm going to accept Vanderbilt's offer."

"What about Rose? I thought you were going to stay instate to be closer to her, plus your family. You know there's no way I can afford Vanderbilt without a mountain of financial aid and debt for the rest of my life.", Chris piped up.

"Like I said, I want us to stay together, but this is what I think would be best for me. Rose made me promise not to compromise my choices for anyone, so that includes her. I mean really guys, how can I pass up everything they are willing to provide, and it's the number one school in the division."

They both looked at me for a good minute, not saying anything. Ivan finally spoke, "I will support you all the way Dimitri, but I won't be there when you tell Rose. She is going to freak out."

I chuckled at that, because Rose was probably going to have a heart attack. "So, what are you both thinking?"

Chris answered first, "It will be UT Austin for me."

Ivan followed after a few moments hesitation, "Vanderbilt. You know I can't let you leave by yourself. You wouldn't know what to do without me."

"So it's settled then."

"I guess so," Chris said, "Good luck telling your girls. I would hate to be y'all." Christian had no worries, but Ivan and I, yea, we better come up with a romantic getaway before we even think about telling Rose and Vika that we are leaving for Tennessee.

Lucky for me, we had a surprise for Roza today.


	4. Chapter 4: Sunsets

_**Chapter 4: Sunsets**_

 _ **ROPV**_

"Auntie Roza, can we play outside?",Paul called out to me. I looked over and saw Zoya and Katya were both napping, Lissa was texting and Vika was reading.

"Sure Paul, Lissa just come get me if they wake up." She gave me a half nod and continued texting. I walked out the back porch and looked to the sunset. It was late March and the sun was setting later and later in the day. It hung to the west with a brilliant orange and pink glow through the clouds. One thing I will never tire of, a Texas sunset. No matter how bad the day gets, I can look up and watch as the sun fades and darkness takes over, completely at peace. It's almost like a door closing on the bad and making way for a better day.

The last few months have been very rough, I find myself sitting out on my back porch more and more just trying to process all that is happening in my life. With Dimitri's graduation around the corner and decisions on college still up in the air, I have had a lot to think about. I know where he wants to go, better yet, I know where he is going to choose. I didn't even have to think when I saw what they were proposing for him. Honestly, I'm surprised he has been thinking so hard on it. He wants to keep the team together, but in the end, he will do what's best for him. That's Vanderbilt. I have been waiting for him to tell me he has made his choice, but still nothing. They have to have answers to the recruiters by the end of the next week. I guess that's why they all wanted to go out today.

They have been gone for hours now, I was getting worried. Normally, they go to the batting cages or head to the old ball field by the school. But they are never gone this long. I really shouldn't worry though, Chris and Ivan are with him. Although, those two always seem to get Dimitri into something without even trying.

Letting out a deep breath and setting aside my worries I ran after Paul to the tree house Dimitri had built for him. It wasn't that big but two small people could fit inside. I was mainly just for Paul, but Zoya would be able to get up there too soon enough. With my size I was able to climb up and sit next to him without taking up too much room.

"Uncle Dimka is leaving isn't he?", he spoke so low I'm surprised I heard him. He looked so sad, and I had no idea what to tell him to make him feel better.

"He's not leaving forever. You know he could never leave you for that long. Your his best pal, right?"

He smiled a little, "Yes, but what if that changes. He's gonna have new friends, he'll forget about me."

For a five year old Paul was pretty smart, he is feeling the same way I am, even if he is thinking something completely different than I am, were still feeling the same. I am terrified that once he goes, he won't come back. Everyone knows what fame and fortune can do to a person. Even as humble as Dimitri is, I am worried that when he goes Pro, he surely will forget about me, about his friends, his family. I tried to reassure Paul that no matter what he would never forget his best pal, was I really just trying to reassure myself?

"Don't worry Pauly, Dimka will never forget you. He may have to go away for a little bit, but he will always come back. You know he loves you so so much. And hey, I will be here, I'm not going anywhere kiddo."

"I love you Auntie Roza."

"I love you too Paul."

We sat in the tree house playing toy soldiers, thirty minutes later Lissa came outside to tell me Zoya was up. Princess could never be bothered to change or feed the babies, so I jumped out the tree house and headed back inside, Paul on my heels. I changed Zoya and heated up her bottle just before Katya woke. I got Vika to help me with her and then it dawned on me. Where is Olena?

"Hey Vika, where is Mama at? I haven't seen her in a few hours."

"She said she was running to the store for something she forgot for dinner. She should be back soon."

Huh!? I didn't even notice she left. I must really have been out of it today. I have been lost in my own thoughts a lot lately, it's not surprising that I spaced out long enough to not realize someone had left.

"Oh Roza, can I borrow that red long sleeve shirt I bought you last year. Ivan is taking me out tonight and I want to look perfect." I knew which one she was asking for, it was a cold shoulder with a good v-cut neckline. It would match her skin just as good as mine, and if Dimitri thought it looked good on me, I know he will not like seeing it on his sister.

"Sure Vika, It's at home, do I need to get it now. What time are you guys going?"

"Around 8, so I should start getting ready now."

I looked at the clock, wow, it's after 6 now. Okay, the guys have been gone way too long, the sun was nearly completely gone now. They left around noon and they are never gone for more than 2 or 3 hours. I was going to call Dimitri when I got back to his house. I made my way down the 3 houses and ran up the stairs to my room, quickly locating the shirt Vika had asked for. I saw a light flash outside my window, I paused for a minute. My backyard faced a wide open field, there was nothing out there, so where did the flash come from? I walked down the stairs as quietly as I could. I reached for my phone, but it wasn't there. I must have left it at Dimitri's. Reaching into the coat closet under the stairs I grabbed my baseball bat. Dimitri insisted I have something I could knock someone out with since I was home by myself most of the time. Creeping to the back door I opened it, ever so slowly, then, then I screamed.

Authors Note: So there we have it, Chapter 4 complete. Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorite my story over the last few days. I know right now it may seem slow or you may have a lot of questions about where this is going. I promise to get to the good bits soon. A couple more short chapters just to set up the background and two long ones for Dimitri leaving for college. Then the good stuff will begin. I will warn there will be a time jump from him leaving to the chapter following that. Anyways, thank you again for reading and reviewing.


	5. Chapter 5: Surprises

_**Chapter 5: Surprises**_

 _ **RPOV**_

The entire back yard lit up like christmas. Hundreds of string lights were hanging around the house, yard, trees, EVERYWHERE!

"Surprise!" Coursed through the vast field from my home to the small creek that ran about an acre away. I stood there stunned, still holding securely onto my bat, you know, just in case. Looking out, I can now make out the faces of all the people standing around. The Belikova women, Ivan, Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Jill, Mason, Mia, Adrian and Sydney...they're all here. Wait where is he? My eyes snapped to the right of the door, a bolt of electricity ran through me, I knew he was close, but I couldn't see him. Looking harder, I can barely make out his silhouette in the dark corner of the house. "Comrade, I know your there, get over here!"

My Russian God stepped out of the dark, clad in his dark jeans, and a skin tight black t-shirt that showed every glorious muscle. Even his signature duster hung around him, how does he not boil in that thing, I was transfixed on the image before me. My man was just to good looking. Something moved off to his left side and my eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"MOM...DAD...What...How...Oh my God!" I jumped right into the middle of my parents embrace. They were supposed to be out of the country until next month. How are they here, when did they get here. I hadn't been gone from the house for that long.

"Happy Birthday Little Girl." Dad said, ohhhh is that today? Huh. How did I forget my own birthday.

Taking in the look on my face my mom laughed. "Really Rosemarie, you have to be the only person on earth to forget your own birthday."

"What can I say, I've had a lot going on. Plus I thought you guys were going to be gone, so what was the point."

"Now we couldn't miss our daughters Sweet 16 could we?"

By this point all of my friends are out right laughing at me. Christian being the brave one to speak first. "Oh Rosie, really, how did you go from having parties planned 3 months in advance to forgetting your own 16th. But then again, it worked out in our favor, you should have seen your face."

"Watch it Fire boy, and by the way, Lissa is the reason it was always planned 3 months in advance. I probably would have forgotten more if it wasn't for her reminding me."

I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind, his aftershave wrapping around me like a warm blanket. "Happy Birthday My Roza. YA lyublyu tebya."

"I love you too, Comrade. I take it this is your doing?" I said pointing toward my parents and the lights everywhere. I still can't get over how many there were.

"Eh. Some, me and the guys did all the labor, Lissa and the girls handled all the arrangements."

"Go figure, well thank you, thank you everyone."

Everyone began to mingle around. I stayed happily wrapped in my love's arms. Mom and Dad were talking with Olena and Yeva. All the pairs were sitting together at a long table they had set up for food. Paul was running around trying to catch lighting bugs. Zoya and Katya were playing on a blanket on the grass. I was surrounded by all my friends, family, my world. This is just what I needed to take my mind off of the fact that Dimitri is leaving soon. I would make every moment count, starting with now.

Dinner was amazing, pulled pork, smoked brisket, chicken and sausage and all the fixin's. My favorite BBQ foods, no one does BBQ better than Texans! Then the cake, well if you can call it a cake, a pyramid of Chocolate frosted doughnuts! My family knows me all too well. After all the food had been eaten and we were all immobile, we sat around the huge bonfire Christian made. He didn't get the nicknames sparky and fire boy for nothing. When we were 14 my dad said we could have a bonfire. It was the first real one for just us. Christian, 15 at the time, went a little overboard on the accelerant, thinking it wouldn't grow so big, the back yard quickly went up and thankfully my dad has a rig setup in case of a spreading fire. The house didn't get burned at all, but the lawn was gone. It took a year for the grass to grow back right. Dad hasn't let Chris light the bonfire by himself since.

"Well let's get started on presents, shall we?" Lissa said standing up to go grab gifts from the table. "You can open mine and Christians first."

The box she handed me looked like it should be on display under the Christmas Tree that stands in Time Square, I swear she takes gift wrapping to a whole new level. As gently as I could I pulled off the elaborate bow, then tore through the paper. I outright laughed, this is the best, yet worst, gift ever. "A Karaoke Machine! Really Liss?"

"Hey, you know how much you love to sing, whether you admit it or not, and we always had fun at the hangout singing." The hangout was this little "club" for 13 to 17 years old in town. The owner was a sweet middle aged lady named Oksana. She and her husband Mark opened the place to give teens a place to go and hang out and be safe. Kept us from getting into a lot of trouble and gave us an outlet to just have fun. We really need to go back soon, it's been a few months since we went last.

"Thank you Liss and Chris! I love it. Ivan, you think you could set it up?" Ivan is the tech genius.

Mia stands up next, "Alright mine and Mason's next." She hands me a gift bag, no fancy wrapping here. I peek inside side and a smile, a gift card to The Cheesecake Factory. I love that place, but I always eat way too much and wind up sick.

Dimitri gives me a knowing look, "Promise you won't eat your weight in cheesecake again. Last time I could barely carry you to the truck!" I smacked him playfully and shot him a look, clearly saying watch it or you won't get any. I'm sure he could see a double meaning.

Around we went, Ivan and Vika gave me new shirts and jeans. Olena and Yeva made me a blanket from all of Dimitri's old baseball shirts. I almost cried, thinking again, he's leaving soon. Swallowing back the sobs in my throat I hugged Olena and Yeva. Eddie and Jill got me a set of lip glosses, lord knows I go through it like crazy. Adrian and Sydney, a Victoria secrets gift card, both my dad and Dimitri shot Adrian a disapproving look. We know Sydney probably didn't know what he picked out. Next came my parents.

"Rosemarie, I know we are gone a lot of the time and we miss out on so much, so we wanted to get you something to make sure we don't miss a moment again." Mom said, I opened the box to find a brand new Canon DSLR camera. Whoa, these are expensive and extremely nice. I jumped and hugged both my parents.

"Thank you Mom and Dad. I promise to capture everything."

Dimitri was next, he looked a little nervous and I couldn't help but wonder why. He looked to my father, dad nodded his head and smiled. He took a deep breath and kneeling down in front of me. Oh hell no, he is not doing what I think he is doing! "Comrade…" my tone wavered, unsure of what was going on. All the girls looked giddy with huge smiles, and the guys, well they looked like they had seen a ghost.

"Relax Roza, I'm not proposing...yet." another deep breath, "Roza, from the moment I met you in that sandbox, I knew I would love you. Yes, I was only 8 but still, I knew. You have captured every part of me. My Heart, My Body, My Soul, it's all yours Roza." He opened the black velvet box to revel a beautiful ring. It looked almost like a knot. Three different color bands woven together. "Most people here call it a Russian Promise Ring, the three bands stand for different things in different places. In our situation, they stand for "Faith, Hope and Love", Faith in our relationship to stand the test of time. Hope to someday have everything together. Love, which I promise to do everyday for the rest of my life. I wanted to give this to you so you know, no matter where I go, no matter how long we are apart, have faith that I will return to you when the job is done. Hope for a bright future side by side. Love with everything we have. One day, I will do this same thing, but instead of a promise, I will offer you the only thing I have left to offer you. My name."

I couldn't stop the tears that were flowing down my cheeks. They flowed steady and fast as a waterfall. He had just poured his entire heart out to me, in front of everyone! Dimitri is usually so reserved with what he says and does when other people are around. He prefers only I hear his undying love comments, says he has to keep up his manly appearance. But he just threw all that out the window. He bared his soul to me and has nothing but love, devotion and happiness written all over his face. I raised my hand to him shakily. I gave him my right hand, knowing its Russian tradition that the band be worn on the right hand ring finger. I had talked to Olena about that once many years ago. I couldn't speak, I just stared into his eyes as he slide the ring on. A perfect fit, like I expected anything less. I leaned forward and kissed the man that my whole being belongs to. " I love you Comrade, for now and forever."

"I love you too Roza, now until forever."


	6. Chapter 6: Worries

_**Chapter 6: Worries**_

 _ **DPOV**_

"I love you too Roza, now until forever." I meant it, with everything in me, I would always love her. No matter what happens in this world, that I am a hundred percent sure on. I was so nervous to give her the promise ring. I know we are young, and we have never dated anyone else, but she is the only one I ever want to be with. I'm so happy that she loved it and felt the same way.

I watched her in awe as she sang song after song on her new karaoke machine. Her voice was truly that of an angel. Everything from pop to country to oldies, she didn't miss a note. She looked radiant in the fire light. She didn't have time to change before the party so she was still in her weekend jeans and loose shirt, but to me, she was stunning. I mean, really, she could wear a burlap sack and I would think she is gorgeous.

All of the girls sang "What a Girl Wants" and "It's Raining Men" at the top of their lungs. It was nice to see all of them together, letting loose. I have been feeling lately that the girls haven't seen much of each other. I mean, me and the guys hang out everyday, but that's only because we are all on the varsity team.

With everything going on she has been feeling down and out, which is to be expected. We have been best friends for nine years, and have hardly ever spent long apart. I remember one summer when she went to Turkey with her parents. They have a house out there that belonged to her father's family. That was the worst 62 days of my life. Yes, I counted, every single one of them.

I had spoken to Abe last month before they left, asking him if I could present Rose with that ring. After he got over his initial shock, threatened to break my kneecaps should I ever hurt her, he gave me his blessing.

 _ ****Flashback****_

Knock, Knock, Knock

"Mr. Mazur. May I speak with you for a moment?" I asked Abe after he called me in to his home office.

"Ah, Dimitri, My boy, please come in and have a seat. Everything is well I hope."

When I had beat my father beyond the point of recognition, Abe had been the one to keep him away. Zemy, he was called behind his back, was not a man you wanted to mess with. If he told you to do something, you did it, no questions, no remarks.

"Yes Sir, everything is well, thank you. I wanted to speak to you about Rose."

"Dimitri, first of all, you have been in my daughter's life for nine years, you can call me Abe. Second, if you impregnated my daughter you might want to run now." I don't know what look my face held, but his laughing did not reassure me at all. "I'm only joking son, now, tell me what has brought you into my office without Rosemarie knowing about it."

I took a deep breath and set the velvet box on his desk. He stared at it for a good moment before speaking again. "I appreciate the gesture, but I am happily married already."

"It's not an engagement ring. We are way to young for that. I know you are familiar with Russian culture and would appreciate the sentiment of this." I opened the box and showed him the promise ring I had gotten made for Roza. "With me leaving soon I know Rose is thinking I will move on and forget about her and my life here. But I want her to know, want everyone to know, I have no intention of _leaving_ _her._ I may be going away for a few years to follow my dreams, but none of that would be worth it without her in my life, by my side." I took another deep breath, "I fully intend to ask for her hand after she graduates college, but for now, I would like to have your blessing to give her this promise, in hope she would in return promise me the same."

He sat laid back in his chair, fingers tented with a calculated look on his face. "You know my reputation Dimitri, you have seen it first hand." I simply nodded. "You know what I could do to you should you ever hurt my little girl." I nodded again, swallowing the lump in my throat. I may have known Zemy for nine years, but he still scares the shit out of me. "I give you credit Dimitri, your a good man, I would be honored to one day call you my son."

 _ ****End Flashback****_

The party slowly started to die down and people were heading home. I knew the time to talk to her was coming closer and closer. I was scared and excited at the same time. I was excited to tell her that I had decided and looking forward to going, but I was scared of her reaction. I didn't want to ruin tonight. She was happy, her parents are here and we have spent the night with all her friends. Her parents were staying tonight and had to leave first thing in the morning, so she was spending the night with them.

I was now headed home with my family, carrying Paul in one arm and Katya in the other. I put the kids down in their beds and my family gathered in the living room.

"Dimka, have you made a choice yet?" Mama asked.

I took in all their expectant faces, deep breath Dimitri, "Yes Mama, I have chosen Vanderbilt."

Mama looked proud, Karo and Sonja smiled and said congratulations, Vika, well she looked like she would cry. "He's going with you isn't he?" she asked.

"You need to talk to him Viktoria. I can't say for sure what he is going to do." Yes, I kind of lied to her. Though he should be the one to confirm her fear, not me. Hopefully it will be better for her knowing that me and him will be together. I'll keep him out of trouble and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.

"Have you told Roza yet?" Karolina asked.

"No, I wanted to wait until after she had spent time with her parents. They leave again in the morning and I didn't want to ruin the night with this." In reality, I didn't want to face her. She will support me, but at what cost to her. I don't want to ruin her last years of high school hanging onto someone who isn't here for her.

"You know she will support you no matter what. Especially after your display at the party, I highly doubt she is going anywhere." Vika replied.

"I can't lie and say that I'm not worried, what if she gets tired of waiting. She will still be in high school, she should be able to enjoy it. Have fun, go out, you know?"

"Would you expect me to do that to Ivan? Or Lissa to Christian?" I shook my head, "Exactly. Dimka, she loves you, only you. If she wanted, at any point, to leave she would have. You know Roza doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do." She had a point there. I wouldn't expect Vika or Lissa to drop Ivan and Chris. I knew I was overthinking and being paranoid, but I couldn't help it. She is amazing and anyone would be lucky to have her. Someone could come in while I am gone and sweep her off her feet. I wouldn't be here to stop it.

I looked over at babushka, she had been completely silent through this whole conversation. She gave me and indulgent smile, "Dimka, focus on the present, the future is there and always changing, always. Make sure you know what matters now, for in time it may all change. Do not doubt what is in front of you for something that may never come."

"Yes babushka, thank you."

"Alright, it's late, lets all get to bed." Mama said.

We all cleared the living room in search for our beds. I laid down and let out a sigh. Tomorrow. I will tell Roza tomorrow my choices and pray she stands by me.


	7. Chapter 7: I Promise

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of its characters.**_

 _ **Chapter 7: I Promise**_

 _ **RPOV**_

I awoke the next morning smiling, my dreams were amazing last night. Dimitri had taken me to Italy and we stood at the top of the eiffel tower. I was scared looking out, but Dimitri keep me securely in his arms. I didn't want to wake, I wanted to stay right there, away from the truth of reality of him leaving for college. The slight weight difference on my right hand drew my attention. I still can't believe he did that. I was so overwhelmed with love and desire. Not only did I realize that he truly does love me more than anything, but I saw, for the first time, that everything really would be okay with us. We would stay together, we had to, our souls were drawn to each other.

I stretched out in bed and got up making my way to the bathroom. After my morning routine it skipped down the stairs to the kitchen. Mom and Dad were sitting at the island, Mom with her cup of black coffee and Dad with his Turkish Tea. Those two never change. I smiled brightly, "Well good morning my parents, strange seeing you here."

"Good Morning Rosemarie, did you sleep well?"

"Very, thank you. Is there any coffee left?"

"Of course. So what has Dimitri decided on for college?" Mom asked.

"Well he hasn't said anything to me yet, but I am almost a hundred percent positive that he will be taking Vanderbilt's offer." He won't pass that up, he can't. If he tries for my benefit, I won't allow it. Vanderbilt is providing so much and I am not talking just about the money. The education he will receive, plus the prospect of Major League recruitment, he would be an idiot to pass it up. Dimitri Belikov is no idiot.

"That would be great for him. How are you feeling about it, Kiz?" Dad asked.

"It took me a long while, like months, to even fathom the idea of him moving to Tennessee. I mean, it's not that far as California, but it is still farther than I would have liked. But, it truly is a great opportunity for him. Attending Vanderbilt he can almost guarantee he goes pro. That is all he has dreamed of since he was a child. All I want is for him to achieve that." Well, other than marrying him and having a family, but dad didn't need to hear that just yet.

Mom was looking at my hand with a sad expression on her face. "Mom, why do you look like your going to cry?"

She sighed loudly, "Are you sure about him Rosemarie? I mean, you have only ever dated him. Don't you think you should take this time apart to expand your horizon? Meet different people, have fun the way a 16 year old should?"

"Yes Mom, he is the only one and will remain the only one. I know you think it's crazy, but we have been together for three years now. They always say you should marry your best friend, the best relationships are based on a great friendship. Well we had six years of friendship before we started dating, he has been and always will be my very best friend. There is no one else on this earth that would understand me the way he does. Hell, no one else would be able to put up with me for a week, he's been doing it for years. Why change a good thing, great thing?"

"I suppose you're right, I just want you to be happy. With him going away for two years while your still in high school, then you will be going to college, that is another two or four years, it's a long time to be apart. Are you going to be okay?"

It surprised me that she was now starting to show that she cared about my happiness. She didn't seem to care all those years ago when I was crying from a nightmare, wishing I had my mother to comfort me. She wasn't there to talk to me about boys or clothes or make up. She wasn't there when I got my first period, I thought I was dying and poor dad didn't know what to do. He called Olena to come and talk to me and buy what I needed. She wasn't there for my first date or first kiss. She was never there.

My mom has been in and out of my life since the beginning. When I was really little, around two or three, she worked in the FBI. Traveling all the time and hardly ever home. Around seven she left the FBI and took up being a personal bodyguard. She was only 5 foot 5 but the little woman had a lot of skill. Dad raised me, practically alone, until age Ten. Then his business took off and mom came back to be his second bodyguard. Well, technically they were just using the time to travel together and make up for lost time. But if things got hasty she never paused to put herself in the way of danger for him. Uncle Pavel, who isn't really my uncle but has been around for as long as I can remember, is dads primary guard.

When I was Ten, Lissa and I began to get really close. Her parents own stock in some of my dads companies and when they began to travel, dad asked the Dragomir's if they would watch me while they were away. Weekend trips turned into weeks, turned into months at a time. We lived as sisters for almost a year straight. Still do from time to time when my parents are gone.

"Yes Mom, as long as I have him, I will be just fine. So, what time are you two taking off?"

"So ready to get rid of us, Little Girl?" Dad laughed, "We leave in an hour. We will be back home the weekend after Easter."

"Okay," I walked around the island to hug them both. "I have to get showered and dressed. I have a feeling Dimitri is going to tell me he's made his choice today, so I want to be ready when he calls. I love you both. Be Safe."

"We love you too, Kiz."

**Break**

Ding Dong, Ding Dong

Who is the world would be ringing the doorbell? Its Sunday afternoon and anyone that would be coming over walks straight through the door, usually yelling I'm home before going into the kitchen and making themselves something to eat.

I looked at the video screen for the front door and saw a pimply teenage boy holding a huge bouquet of flowers. Wasn't last night enough romance, I mean he poured his heart out, now he's sending flowers too? He must think I am going to take the news pretty badly and is trying to soften the blow.

I opened the door and took the flowers from the boy. His gaze roaming my body didn't escape me. I grabbed the vase with my right hand holding it so it was right in his line of sight. "Oh my boyfriend is just too much sometimes." He grumbled something and turned around, walking back down the path to the road. Boys. I looked in the center of the arrangement to find the little card that comes with them. " _Wear something comfortable and good shoes. I will pick you up at 4pm. BE READY ON TIME!"_ 4pm? That is two hours from now. How am I supposed to be ready in two hours for a date that I don't have any idea of where I am going. He said comfortable, okay so jeans and a nice shirt, but what if it's too nice. He also said good shoes, does that mean we were walking somewhere? If so, I would need to make sure to use my waterproof makeup. It may not be 90 degrees out yet, but the humidity in spring here would have you sweating in ten minutes of walking outside. Oh my, my hair is going to frizz like crazy if were outdoors. I grabbed my phone and dialed Lissa.

"Lissa! I need you, my house, _yesterday! HURRY!"_ I hung up before she could even answer. She would know its a wardrobe/makeup crisis and bring her whole vanity with her.

Not five minutes later the front door swung open. "I came as quick as I could, what's the situation?" Lissa let out in pants as she tried to catch her breath. She lived two houses down so she most likely ran. I showed her the card and the flowers. "Man, he really is going all out to make sure you don't hate him in his choice."

"I thought the same thing."

Lissa set to work on my hair and makeup while we tried to figure out what I would wear. She did a half up-do with soft curls flowing down. Just the way he likes it, but also will keep most off my neck and keep me from sweating. After applying a whole bottle of anti-frizz spray to my hair she deemed that done. Now onto makeup. Not knowing where we would be or doing, we kept that very simple. Light eye shadow and mascara, with my pink lip gloss. My skin has always been smooth and flawless so I didn't have to use a foundation or powder to fix any blemishes. Finishing with that we walked my closet to find the shirt we thought would be perfect. It was a red, plaid look blouse, lightweight and Dimitri and his cowboy obsession loved me wearing plaid. Though it didn't look too country, just enough to be cute. We paired that with my skin tight blue jeans, they were easy to move in, and since I wore jeans so often, they didn't make me overly hot. To top it all off, and to tickle Dimitris fancy just little more, I threw on my cowgirl boots he bought me last year for my birthday. They were well broken in and comfortable for walking for extended periods of time. I knew I was starting to tap into his fantasies with this outfit, boots and all, but I think he deserves it for making me wait to hear his choice.

"Good Luck Rose." Lissa called on her way out the door.

Checking the clock, 3:54 pm. Knowing my love he would be pulling up in exactly one minute. 3:55. I heard the rumble of his Hemi truck outside. Yupp, right on time. I opened the door before he even got out of the truck. He came around the hood and stared straight into my eyes before moving his up and down my body. I knew this shirt would look good, and it was fitted so it hugged my curves just right.

"You look beautiful, Roza."

"Thank you Comrade, you don't look half bad yourself." He had his hair out, just the way I love, a blue and black plaid shirt with the top button undone, just enough to peak at his magnificent chest. His faded blue jeans and of course, his cowboy boots. I guess we both had the same thought today.

"Come on my Roza, I want to grab dinner before the date." Huh, so there is more than one part to tonight. Should have figured that out.

"Where are we off to, Comrade?"

"Patience Rose, don't you know all good things come with time."

"You know I have never been patient in my whole life!"

We drove down I-20 toward Fort Worth. After about a 20 minute drive we pulled up into a little hole in the wall restaurant. Madea's Down Home Cooking, it is southern soul food. I think he was trying to get as much of the southern food he could get before going to Tennessee. They could do country cooking, but not like you would get here. It's just not the same.

Dinner was amazing, I had Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed potatoes, Beans and Broccoli and rice casserole. Dimitri, Chicken Fried Chicken, mac and cheese, greens and beans. It was phenomenal, I haven't had down home cooking like that in a very long time. Don't get me wrong, Olena is an amazing cook, and so is Dimitri, but they make a lot of Russian dishes and very seldom would they cook something this bad for you. I mean, this meal probably had double the calories of our average dinner, and I ate every last piece.

"Ahhhh, I am so full, I don't think I could move for a week."

"You know they make to go boxes for a reason, you didn't have to eat it all right now."

"It doesn't taste the same after being reheated, I had to savor it hot from the fryer!"

"Okay, well can you walk to the truck or am I going to have to carry you again?"

"Ha ha very funny, just give me a minute and I will walk myself."

We got back in the truck and he headed Northbound on I-35, further into Fort Worth.

"So where to now?" He just gave me a look, yupp, he was not going to tell me. Another 20 minutes and we pulled up outside a familiar building. Billy Bob's Texas! Also known as, "The world's largest Honky Tonk" they have hosted concerts for every all time country artist you can think of. As well as being featured in movies over time and George Strait was playing tonight. I heard he was going to be in town and I so badly wanted to take Dimitri, he absolutely loves George Strait. As far as I know, he has never played here before, hell he hasn't had a concert in a long time. But somehow he is here and I couldn't be happier to share this with Dimitri.

We gave our tickets the the guys at the gate and made our way into the venue. This place is huge, over 100,000 square feet and has a 20,000 square foot dance floor. I can see Dimitri and I two-stepping around the room already.

As predicted the concert was amazing. He sang all of my favorites, All my ex's Live in Texas, Carrying your love with me, I just want to Dance With You, Here for a good time and many more. Dimitri and I sang along with almost every one. We were doing a line dance when all of a sudden the music shifted into one of George's famous slow songs. "I Cross My Heart" Dimitri wrapped his arms around me and begin to lead me around the dance floor. Softly singing to me, "Our love is unconditional, We knew it from the start, I see it in your eyes, you can feel it from my heart, from here on after, lets stay the way were are right now, and share all the love and laughter, that a lifetime will allow, I cross my heart and promise to. Give all I got to give to make all your dreams come true, In all the world you'll never find. a love as true as mine"

I stared up at him through my lashes. Completely lost in this moment. I put my arms around his neck and pulled myself up to him. The kiss was slow, loving, sensual, for lack of better words, perfect. Neither of us deepend this kiss, this was just pure sweet love being poured out of us. This was a promise, to do everything we can to make this work. A promise to love each other till the end of time. A promise to fight for everything we want.

"I promise, Comrade."

Authors Note: I was so proud of myself for finishing 3 chapters today, I decided to go ahead and upload another for you lovely people. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am writing it. My nephews are helping me, they are the inspiration behind the baseball theme and I love sharing this with them. So please review so I can show them.

Much love to all,

Katarina


	8. Chapter 8: Practice

_**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or the sexy men in it.**_

 _ **As always, read and review. Enjoy**_

 _ **Chapter 8:Practice**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Tonight couldn't have gone better. Dinner was delicious, the concert was absolutely amazing, most importantly, Roza was happy. She seemed relaxed I didn't want that to end. Not yet. I didn't want my next words to take her away from her happy place.

As we drove back to the house, both of us remained silent. Her hand resting on my upper thigh, my thumb rubbing soft circles on the back of her hand. She was staring out the window, I couldn't be sure, but I thought she might be crying. It only took thirty minutes to get back to her house from Billy Bob's. I pulled into her driveway and killed the engine. Wiping her face she turned to me, "Stay the night?"

I have never stayed the night with her before. Sure we have napped together on the couch or cuddled in bed for a few hours, but I have never stayed a full night with her. Believe it or not, Rose and I have never had sex. We joke and she throws sexual innuendos at me all the time, but we have never done it. We both know we will be each others one and only, but something about waiting till marriage makes it more special. I'm not overly religious like my mama, and neither is Rose like her father. However, that was one thing we had decided together to save. With her asking me to stay she was going to push the boundaries of my self control. I mean, I am a 18 year old male, I have wants and needs, and saving my first time, our first time, to be our wedding night gets hard sometimes. Too many times have we had our make outs go a bit too far. I have to fight to stay in control, I know she does too.

"Dimitri, I just want to sleep, that's all, but I want you here with me. Stay?"

"Of course moya lyubov'" (my love)

I walked around to her side of the truck and opened the door, taking her hand I lead her up to the porch. Her house was much like my own, two story southern cottage style. White exterior, blue porch ceiling, metal roof and lap siding. The porch wrapped around the entire house, when we were young I used to chase her around in circles. Her father always loved to watch us laughing and playing outside. My mama would yell from our own porch when dinner time came and I would always be sad to go. About four years ago, Abe had found a vintage porch swing at a second hand store. He knew how much Roza loved to sit on the porch and watch the sunrises. That's where we had our first kiss, it's also where we found ourselves tonight.

"So, are you finally going to tell me where you've chosen? Don't get me wrong, I love all the romance you have pulled off in the last 2 days, but you didn't have to do all this just to tell me."

Straight to the point, okay, I wanted to work up the nerve but I guess now is as good a time as any. "Yes Roza," I paused, not for her, but for me, I needed just one more moment before everything changed. "I have chosen Vanderbilt, I just couldn't see myself passing up the opportunity. It would be amazing to study there and play ball. They are offering so much and.." She cut off my rambling.

"Dimitri, I have known since the moment you read their offer letter." Huh. I should have known she would know my choice before I did. "You don't have to justify to me why you want to go, or why you chose them. I know. Sometimes I know you better than you know yourself, Comrade. It will be hard, but we will make it work."

"I love you Roza, do you know that? Do I tell you enough? Because seriously, how on earth did I get so blessed with you?"

"Yes Comrade, you tell me more than enough, even without words. And I think you've got it backwards. I don't know how I was lucky enough to have you as mine."

She truly amazes me, I surely thought she was going to freak out. Hell, _I_ have been freaking out for the last 2 weeks. I thought this was going to be the end, even though she told me countless times she wouldn't leave me. After seeing me beat my father up into a bloody mess. After telling me she loved me for the thousandth time, even after she accepted the ring. I was certain she was going to tuck tail and run. But she didn't, she wouldn't and that means everything.

"Come on Roza, let's get some sleep, it has been a very long day."

She yawned confirming what I already knew, she was more exhausted than I. We walked into the house, locking the door I followed Roza to her room. Now, I have been in her room countless times, but the thought of staying here all night started to weigh on me. Could I keep my promise to her to wait, could she? _Calm down Dimitri, it is just one night and we're just going to sleep._ Yes, SLEEP. Nothing more. I really wish I wasn't a hormonal teenager right now. I stripped off my shirt, boots and jeans and crawled into bed. Rose went to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. She crawled right in next to me not saying anything, she rolled to her side and faced me.

"I love you Dimitri Belikov, don't ever doubt that, and never forget." She gave me a lingering kiss and rested her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her protectively and kissed her hair.

"I love you too, Rosemarie Mazur. Always."

 _Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep_

"Comrade, turn it off!"

"Sorry love, I have to get up for practice."

"There's no school today, you still have practice?"

"Coach Tanner said we have to get ready for the districts next week. Meaning even if everyone else is taking the day off, we won't be." Districts is the real start of the season, these games are the deciding factor for the playoffs. Ivan, Chris and I are desperate to get to the State Championships before we graduate, this is our last chance.

Today was a student holiday, so all the teachers had to work and the students got a free day off. But the guys and I would have to go in for practice, then we get the afternoon off.

"Alright, get going, I am sure Mama will be wondering where you are."

"I texted her last night to let her know I was staying with you."

I had to laugh at her expression, her face looked horrified that my mother knew I was staying the night with my girlfriend. "She didn't freak out on you?"

"No, she knows that we aren't _sleeping_ together, so she just said to sleep well." My Mama knows everything about Roza and I. I tell her everything, much to her liking when I told her about us waiting for marriage to have sex.

I climbed out of bed and walked into the ensuite bathroom to get dressed and brush my teeth. Rose was still laying in bed half awake, no doubt she will asleep when I leave. I walked over and gave her a kiss to her forehead. "I love you Milaya, I'll call you after practice." She nodded slightly and mumbled an I love you too.

I texted Ivan and Chris to let them know I would be there soon to pick them up. Running home to change into my practice gear and grab my bat bag, I headed off.

"So… How did the night go? You're still breathing so I assume it was okay." Ivan said as he jumped in the truck.

"It went perfect. Between dinner, the concert and staying at her house, everything was perfect. She didn't freak out when I told her, she already knew I was going to choose Vanderbilt."

" _YOU STAYED THE NIGHT_! I thought you guys were waiting!"

"We are Ivan, she just wanted to stay close after we talked about everything. So we _slept_ together."

"Man, you have far more control than I do. I couldn't lay in the same bed with my girlfriend and not want to have her."

"Ivan, remember your girlfriend is my _little_ sister, watch it." I knew Ivan and Vicktoria were having sex, didn't mean I had to like it. I definitely didn't want to hear about it. Pulling up to Christians house I saw him sitting on the front porch, he looked a bit out of it. "Come on Ozera, we don't have all day!"

"Sorry." He muttered climbing into the back seat. "Dimitri, I have to tell you something." I looked into the rearview mirror and caught his eyes. He honestly looked a bit scared. Returning my eyes to the road ahead, I waited for him to continue. "Tasha is back. She dropped out of USC and came back home. Mom and Dad are furious, but you know they won't kick her out."

Tasha is Christians older sister. She's 21 and has always had a thing for me, I never understood why. Before she left, we had a party for her and she had been drinking heavily. She confessed all her feelings for me, pushed my back into a corner and kissed me. As soon as her lips hit mine I pushed away. Roza saw the whole thing and to my surprise she didn't kill her. She did however step between us and use some very colorful langue to tell Tasha to back up. We weren't technically dating then, but she stuck her claim on me nonetheless.

"She's already asking about you. Wanting to know if your dating anyone and what you've been up to."

"What did you tell her?"

"I didn't say anything. I know she hates Rose, so I didn't want to start a fight with her. Believe me, I am not happy that she is here either, she makes my life hell. Always talking shit about Liss and Rose, but for my parents sake and my sanity, I am going to ignore her as much as I can."

"I understand, I know how crazy she can get. I had to change my phone number twice. Just please, let me know if she starts asking to many questions. I will tell her that I am happily taken and that I don't want anything to do with her. I don't want you to be stuck in the middle."

We continued on and pulled into the school parking lot. Mason and Eddie were standing next to the field house waiting on us. "Where's Ivashkov? I still need to kick his ass for buying Rose Victoria Secret."

"I didn't buy it for her, just gave her the means to buy it. You know how much I love to imagine Rose in red lace." My anger flared, he has always had a thing for Rose. Even though him and Sydney have been dating for 2 years now and are stupid in love. He still likes to push my buttons and flirt with her.

"Watch it Adrian, I have no problem hitting you with a few wild pitches." That way no one can get mad at me for hurting him, it was a bad pitch, an accident. Also, being hit by a 90 mile per hour fastball would hurt a lot more than my fist.

Coach Tanner came walking out just then, "Gentlemen, last time I checked this was practice, not social hour. Get your butts moving I want 15 laps, 30 minutes."

Making our way to the practice field we set down our bags and took off. Varsity team always led the laps. If anyone on the varsity team finished after the lower team, you didn't play that week. I was almost always first, between Ivan and I, no one ever passed us. Me, Ivan, Chris, Eddie, Mason and Adrian all ran ahead of the group. Chatting about the party and how the weekend planned out. Of course they all wanted to know what I did for Rose to keep her from killing me.

I told them about dinner and the concert, then about staying at the house with her that night. They all knew that we were waiting so it shocked everyone just as much as Ivan, when I first told him.

"So how did Vika take it, Ivan? I haven't seen her today yet, she wasn't awake when I had gone home."

"Much like Rose. She knew I would follow you, so when you told your family she knew I would be leaving too."

"Yea, she asked me when I told them, I just said she needed to talk to you."

"How about you Chris, Lissa must be happy."

"Oh she is, and she showed it in many different ways." Christian had a smug look on his face.

"Alright Ozera, no one wants to know about your sex life." Eddie commented.

"Don't hate just because yours is non-existent."

"Jill's not ready for that, she's just a freshman. I won't ask her or put her in that position."

"Don't listen to them Castile. There is nothing wrong with waiting." I told him.

"Alright can we cut the sex talk and talk about the game next week?" Ivan said. I was perfectly fine changing the topic. Even though all our friends knew my sex life was nothing, I still didn't like to talk about it. Somedays I wanted more with Rose, I know she did too, but I was honestly scared. What if that is the one place we aren't compatible? I really hope that when we finally do we both enjoy it, I would hate not to be able to satisfy her.

"So Jeffersons pitcher is a hard ass. He has a very good breaking ball, looks like its coming at 80 but its around 55, so you have to watch out for that. He also favors the corners a lot. So be mindful in the box." I explained. It was true, this pitcher was hard to bat against. His breaking ball was like an illusion, it looked like it was traveling so fast, so you would swing ahead of the pitch. Hardly anyone was hitting off him this year. Jefferson is the team to beat this year. The Vampires, fitting too, they were out for blood.

Ivan piped up, "There shortstop is a stealer too, Chris you will have to keep a good eye on him and make sure you signal me if I don't catch him starting to take off. He is fast, but it I can get up quick enough I think I can pin him."

"Castile that means you need to be on the lookout and move too. If you see him moving be on your toes because it will come down quick."

Throw downs were our best defense. We haven't allowed anyone to steal a base this year. Christian and Ivan had a signal between them that no one has caught on to. When Chris sees the movement the runners make before taking off for second, he signals Ivan, who then adjust his stance behind the plate. As soon as I throw the pitch I squat down to get out of his way, already knowing he is going to throw down. Castile is there to make the tag, Ivan's throws are always on point.

We finished our laps, weights and drills, it is now after 1pm and I am ready to collapse. Coach really ran us into the ground today. "Good work today boys, were looking a lot better than you were 3 weeks ago. I won't tolerate a loss like the one against Grovetown. We play Jefferson in 12 days, start of Districts. You all know that they are the best in this district, if we can't beat them, you will not see State. Understood?" a course of "Yes Sirs" rang out. "Good, your are dismissed for the day. Belikov, Zeklos and Ozera, may I have a minute? Have you decided where you want to go? You know its a huge deal to get these offers before Districts have even started. You three are the most talented players I have ever coached."

"Ivan and I have chosen Vanderbilt." Chris steps up, "I have chosen UT Austin."

"Congratulations boys, you have made me proud, I expect all of you to show your team mates how to make it to the big leagues, and I wish you all the best for your future."


	9. Chapter 9: The Game

_**Chapter 9:The Game**_

 _ **RPOV**_

"Vika, come on, we have to go or were going to miss first pitch! Your brother and Ivan will be pissed."

"I'm coming, hold your horses. I couldn't find my shirt."

Vika, Lissa and myself had shirts made this year for game nights. On the front it read "I'm with the (their position)" and had their numbers and names on the back. I grabbed my camera and headed out to my car. I got my license last week and Dad said I could have any car on the lot. I am now the proud owner of a 2017 Dodge Challenger, it is a standard transmission, muscle bound beast. I love the way the engine roars to life when I hit the gas. Picking up Lissa we headed to the school. The game was at home this week, it was also the last game of the regular season. We were playing Jefferson again, we had tied them on our first district game. Both teams remained undefeated in Districts, the tie had to be broken. So this is a huge game, a win tonight, we continue to the playoffs, if we lose, this is their last game.

We get to the field about 10 minutes before first pitch, the guys come over to the wall by the bullpen, (where the pitchers warm up) all three of us lean over the wall and kiss our men for good luck. A thought crossed my mind, this would be a really cute picture. I called Eddie over who was just behind us warming up with Mason.

We leaned back over the wall and kissed our guys again. Eddie snapped the picture, none of us pulled away just yet. After another moment, we all told them good luck at the same time. Eddie handed me back the camera and I looked at the picture. I'd have that printed for each of us to hold on to.

We walked over to the stands as the announcer called out, "Who is ready for Guardian Baseball! Tonight we have the St. Vladimir Guardians vs the Jefferson Vampires!" The stands erupted into ear piercing cheers. "Our starting lineup for the Guardians. First Base Christian Ozera #8, Second Mason Ashford #6, Third Adrian Ivashkov #11, Shortstop Eddie Castile #5, Left field Trey Juarez #13, Center Field Ryan Aylesworth #27, Right Field Shane Reyes #18. Rounding out our lineup behind the plate catching Ivan Zeklos #4 and on the mound pitching, Dimitri Belikov #10. Let's hear one more round of applause for our starters!" The guys ran out as their name was called. Dimitri gave me a huge face splitting smile as he made his way to the mound. I screamed as loud as I could for him. "Play ball" was called by the umpire and the game began.

Lissa, Viktoria and I always sat in the dead center of the stands. That way we could see everything. We were chatting mindlessly throughout the game. I caught sight of a raven haired woman walking through the gate toward our stands. Tasha. I looked to Lissa for an explanation.

"I meant to tell you, but I guess it slipped my mind."

"How long has she been here?"

"Uhhh….. Not that long." She turned away from me, avoiding eye contact. She was lying, but if she was keeping it from me, there's a good chance Dimitri was keeping it from me too. Why?

"Lissa, how long?"

Sighing she turned to me, "A month or two. She dropped out of College and came back home. We didn't want to tell you, with everything going on, we didn't want you to get upset over her."

"WE?"

"All of us. Me, Christian, Vika, Ivan and….Dimitri."

"Seriously, all of you, all of you kept this from me!"

"See, this is why we did it! We didn't want you to get upset over her being back in town. We all know you don't like her, hell none of us do. But we all know she has a thing for Dimitri and we didn't want you to get upset over it."

"I am more upset that _you all_ kept it from me. I thought we had no secrets. Oh, and Dimitri is going to get it!"

"Rose, don't, he wanted to tell you. We convinced him not to." Vika stepped in for the first time.

"I doesn't matter, he still should have told me. I am his girlfriend. He is supposed to be honest with me, not hide shit from me!"

I was furious right now. How could they all keep something like this from me. Tasha had a psycho crush on Dimitri. She used to stalk him when we were younger. He had to change his phone number twice, because she would call and text him constantly, even sent him naked pictures at one point. Not to mention the party where she pushed him back into a corner and tried to make out with him. I stepped in on that one. No way was that bitch touching my man, even if he wasn't really mine at that time.

I looked down to the front row where Tasha had sat herself. She wanted to be right in front, in the center, right in his line of sight. From what I could tell he didn't even notice her. His face never changed, he was too focused.

It has been a fight, no runs scored for either team as we are going into the 7th inning. Now, that is a good and bad thing, they haven't scored a run, but neither have we. One thing we do have on our side is Dimitri is pitching a no hitter at this moment. Meaning not a single batter has hit the ball and made it to first safely. The infield was dominating the game, making amazing stops that surly should have gotten passed them for a single. But so far, nothing, I, as well as everyone around me, was on the edge of my seat. Only three more innings to make something happen. I caught Dimitri's eyes as he made his way back out to the mound to start the next inning. I shouted, "I love you #10, strike 'em all out babe!" He shook his head and chuckled. I knew he was starting to get tense up there, so hopefully getting a laugh in would ease him some. I didn't miss Tasha turning around to glare at me. I may have had an ulterior motive for shouting to him.

 **DPOV**

It was the top of the 7th, neither team has scored yet, though we have gotten a few on base. They haven't hit off me all night, if I could just keep this up we could pull out a win. No pressure right! I heard Rose yell from the stands and just shook my head at her, laughing. I needed that. _Deep breath Dimitri, you got this, you have to do this, the whole team is counting on you._ I have been telling myself that all night. I hope I can do this.

One batter at a time, first one up, three easy pitches, strike out.

Second, hit to short, Eddie fielded it perfectly to Christian, out. Two down, one to go.

Strike, ball, ball, strike. Okay one more strike, that's all I need to get out of the inning. Pitch, Hit, oh shit!

I watched the ball sail through the air, headed straight for the fence in left field. Trey was running full speed, jumping at the wall he tried to catch it from going over. Every breath in the stadium was held, with the angle Trey was at we couldn't quite tell if he had caught it or not. The batter was already passing second base when Trey stood back up from his fall of hitting the wall.

No ball in his glove, Home Run.

The Vampires crowd went ballistic, the sound almost deafening. I squatted on the mound defeated. I had pitched a perfect game so far. Now they were leading, yes, it was just by one run, but a hit like that in a game like this, well, it's literally game changing. It rallys the team and gets everyone hyped up. My job just got a lot harder. Lucky for me, the next batter hit a short ground ball to first and Christian was able to get him out. We struck out, three for three on our bat in the seventh. Eighth inning we managed to get everyone out, three up three down as we call it.

Ninth inning, were up to bat, score is still 0 to 1, Vampires leading. Christian batted first, he hit, making it to first. Shane followed him, strike out. Mason was next, fly out. Ivan came to the plate, at this point I was biting my already nonexistent nails. HIT! Ivan took off and managed a double, Christian was stuck at Third, he couldn't get home before the ball came back in. I'm up. I take a deep breath and look to My Roza. She is biting her nails too, seeing my gaze locking to hers, "I love you" she mouths. I mouth I love you back and head to the batter box.

Deep Breath.

Ball. Breathe

Ball. Breathe

Strike. Shit, Breathe

Ball. Breathe

Foul. Fuck! Breathe

I only get one more pitch, unless I foul again, but I don't want that. I need to connect and make it fly. Two outs, two runners on base, I just need a Double or a long Single. Ivan is fast, he might be able to make it home if I can get it far enough into the corner.

Pitch, it's coming right over the plate, perfect! I rotate, bringing my hips around inline with the bat. Connect. I stood there for a moment watching the ball sail through the night sky. Much like the hit they scored on me, it was headed right to the wall, only mine went to right field. I laid my bat down and started moving, Christian had already crossed home plate and Ivan was trotting around third. There was no reason to all out run, this would either clear the wall for a home run, bring the score 3 to 1, victory. Or he would make the catch and that would be game over.

The stadium was silent, you could hear a pin drop, there wasn't even a bird chirping or a cricket moving. The ball was starting to come down, from here it looked like it would clear the wall, the fielder was short so I prayed he couldn't jump that high. His feet left the ground. We all stopped, no one moving, reaching up and out to the wall, the ball hits his glove.

That's it, game over, we lost. I felt like the world just crashed around me.

I lowered my head, I couldn't even watch him come back up from the catch.

All of a sudden, the crowd on our side started screaming. I was confused. Why is everyone so excited, we just lost.

Then I heard someone yell, I turned around to look at Rose in the stands, "RUN HOME COMRADE". Huh? He caught it, the game is over. I looked back out to right field where the fielder was on the ground. His glove empty. No, No way, I saw him catch it. Where is the ball, is this a joke?

"Dimitri, He lost it over the wall, Run Home!" Ivan yelled over the crowd.

I was still standing dumbfounded on second base. I turned toward third and hauled ass to my teammates who were all now standing around home plate. I jumped from 5 feet away and landed right on top of the plate.

WE WON! Playoffs here we come!

Author's Note: I'm not going to lie, I have had so much fun writing this chapter. I am a huge baseball fan, so for me, this was awesome. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10: Complications

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, all characters belong to amazing woman, R. Meade._**

 _ **Chapter 10: Complications**_

 _ **DPOV**_

We cleared the dugout after all the excitement of clutching the win. Undefeated district season, I was in a trance. The crowd was all gathered just outside the gate, we had to walk through everyone to get to the field house. Several people reached out for handshakes, saying congratulations or great job as we continued to make our way through. Half way down the line someone threw themselves at me, jumping into my arms and wrapping their legs around me. I was stunned for a moment, the only person brave enough to do that would be Rose, this however was not her.

I pushed the body away from me, "Tasha what are you doing?" That just pissed me off, can this woman not take the hint. I confronted her a few weeks back at Christians, I was picking him up for practice and she was outside waiting for me. I told her I was seeing someone and I had no interest in her. She seemed to take it okay at the time, although I didn't tell her who, she didn't ask. Looking at her right now, she is upset, she must have figured out that the person I was seeing, was in fact Rose.

"Oh Dimka, I just wanted to congratulate you on the win. I am so proud of you, you played great!" Her annoying smile and hand still on my arm didn't escape me. I pushed her hand away.

"Then say it, don't jump on me! I told you, _I don't want you_. Can you stop throwing yourself at me! Literally." I said through gritted teeth.

She stepped back, like I had just slapped her. I held no pity, this woman doesn't know when to stop. If me kindly telling her I am not available or interested wasn't working, well then I had to be blunt. I continued to walk, my eyes were scanning, looking for her. I could see Lissa and Viktoria near the end of the line, but no Rose.

"Where is Rose?" I asked them when we were close enough, my eyes still scanning the area.

"She left." Lissa said.

"What, Why?"

"Well first off, Tasha showing up pissed her off. She's really mad we all kept it from her. Second, she saw Tasha try to jump your bones right in the middle of a crowd and said she didn't need to stay any longer."

I cursed in Russian, no one here would know what I was saying, good thing too.

"Don't act surprised Dimka. You know she was going to find out sooner or later. Let her calm down, talk to her, everything will be okay." Vika says, "Can you take Lissa and I home with you guys, Rose was our ride."

"Yea, let me go get a shower and change. Here's the keys, _don't_ move my truck."

I tried to call Rose before I got in the shower. No answer, yea, she's pissed. No matter what, she always answers my phone calls. Even after fights, for her not to answer, well that worried me. Chris, Ivan and I showered and met back up with the girls outside.

"So Adrian just came by and said there is going to be an after party at his house. Can we go?" Vika looked mainly to me, knowing I would pull a big brother card and say no. We deserved to celebrate, we just won our Rivalry game and made it to the playoffs.

"You guys can go. I'll drop you off, then I am going to go find Rose."

"She texted me and told me to let you know you won't find her. She said she will be okay, she just wanted to be alone for a little while."

"Well I am not going to go to a party while my girlfriend is god knows where and pissed off at me!"

"Dimitri, you have to go. Your the star of the game." Ivan said.

Everyone would expect me to be there, honestly I could use a good party. We have been working so hard for this, we should celebrate. But I want Rose by my side, I always want her by my side.

I took in all their faces, "Fine, but I am not staying long. Ivan we can swing by your house to grab your car so you can take everyone home after."

We pulled up to Adrian's house, or should I say mansion. His parents were filthy rich and loved to show it. The driveway was lined with Bentley and Mercedes vehicles all belonging to the Ivashkov's. The house was already jumping, music blared through the air and people were everywhere. We walked in the door and everyone yelled for us. I felt like a superstar. I have never had this many people looking at me, praising me. It was exhilarating.

"The star arrives!" Adrian yelled from the kitchen. He was making all different types of cocktails. Handing all of us one, we raised our glasses, well solo cups in this case. "PLAY OFFS HERE WE COME!" He yelled, everyone around shouted and we downed our drinks.

 _ **RPOV**_

I drove for awhile, close to an hour, before I pulled up outside the gated area to my favorite hide away. River Legacy Park. It was a 1300 acre forest, running along the Trinity River. It was completely gated, but there is a spot on the back side, where the gate was slightly shorter, and had no cameras. I hopped the fence and walked about 100 yards to a small pond that sat in a clearing.

I sat myself there for what seemed like forever. I cried every tear that my body held. I cried thinking, how could Dimitri hide something like that from me. Was there something going on with him and Tasha? She seemed to have no reserve jumping on him, knowing I was there and would see. I am sure she only did it to piss me off, well she succeeded. Did he even tell her we were dating, was he ashamed to tell her? I cried because of him, I cried for him, I cried for myself.

I know I shouldn't think like that, I know Dimitri loves me. Is that enough though? I checked my phone for the time, three hours, I had been sitting her for three hours. I stood up and brushed off my jeans. Climbing back over the fence, I headed for my car.

Driving back to town, my phone started to go crazy, I finally had service, all my missed calls and text started to ring though. Most were from Dimitri, several calls and a few text telling me he loves me and he is sorry. Begging me to call him and talk to him. There was two from Lissa, letting me know Dimitri was giving her a ride to Adrian's for the after party, asking me to come when I was settled back down.

Deciding to pull myself out of my own pity party, I made a turn and headed to Adrian's. If I would have known what I would find, I wouldn't have come, now I just wanted to go away.

 _ **DPOV**_

I was drinking heavily now, I have tried to call Rose about 10 times over the last hour. Still no answer, not even a text. I was going out of my mind, I just need to talk to her, explain everything. I still stood in the kitchen, everyone was laughing and talking loudly over the music. I saw Ivan and Vika on the couch, lips locked in a battle for dominance. I actually smiled at that, of all the guys she could be with, I am glad it's him. He will be good to her. Chris and Lissa had disappeared into one of the many bedrooms about an hour ago. They probably wouldn't surface again tonight. Adrian was walking around, talking to everyone and Eddie and Mason were in a heated game of beer pong. I watched all of my friends having a good time, suddenly I felt like complete shit. How can I be here, when Rose is out there?

I walked over to Adrian, "Hey man, I am going to head out and try to find Rose."

"Dimitri, I don't think you should be driving, you've had quite a bit to drink. Let her calm down, she will come around. Stay here tonight, you know there is plenty of room."

What he said made sense, I could crash here and tomorrow I would wake up and talk to My Roza. Plus, I really shouldn't be driving, I could barely walk 5 feet without having to grab a wall. I must have had a lot more than I thought.

I walked toward the stairs and slowly made my way up them. I found an open door and walked inside. The room was huge, even for a guest room in a mansion. There was a four poster king size bed in the middle, dark wood nightstands on either side. A desk and chair sat off to the right, and a walk in wardrobe to the left. It even had an ensuite bathroom. Damn rich people.

I collapsed onto the bed, still fully clothed, I was out before my head hit the pillow.

A door slamming woke me with a start. I was still laying on top of the sheets, my shoes and socks now off, the buckle on my belt was undone. I guess I tried to get undressed and failed. I laid my head back trying to ignore the pounding that was already starting. I heard a movement to my right and looked over to see someone in the bed with me, her naked back exposed, her skin was pale, too pale to be My Roza. The person rolled over, Oh fuck no!

Author's Note: Please Please don't hate me. I am sorry. I can honestly say, this was the hardest thing I have had to write, ever in my life. I hate myself right now more than you probably do. As always, review and leave your thoughts.


	11. Chapter 11: Misunderstandings

_**Author's Note: I wanted to go ahead and throw in a Trigger warning. There will be mention of suicide in this chapter and the next. No one is actually going to die, and there will not be graphic detail. I have battled with this myself and I understand it can be a touchy subject. I do not intend to offend any one. If this bothers you, the last DPOV is where the mention will be.**_

 _ **Chapter 11: Misunderstandings**_

 _ **DPOV**_

I bolted out of the bed, the room spinning and I had to catch myself from falling flat on my face.

No, No, this can't be happening, and please for the love of God, tell me it wasn't Rose that had slammed the door.

"WHAT THE FUCK TASHA!" I was pure rage right now. If it wasn't for the deep fear of becoming my father, I probably would have beat the lights out of her.

"Dimka, Whats wrong? You asked me to come up here with you, don't you remember?"

"No Tasha I didn't, I remember perfectly. I talked to Adrian, he told me to go to sleep, so I walked up here, ALONE and laid down. ALONE! So please tell me what is going on and what you did."

" _WE_ had some fun, that's all." Her smile reminded me of the Joker from Batman, sick and twisted.

No, there is no way I did _that_ with _her_. I looked down and my jeans were still buttoned but my belt was undone. She wouldn't have been able to undress me, dead weight is hard to move and even awake, I had a hundred pounds on her.

The door flew open for the second time tonight and Chris and Ivan walked in. Looking at me they were angry, looking at Tasha, they were murderous.

"Dimitri, what is going on? Rose just ran out of the house and she is pissed to say the least."

"I was talking with Adrian, came up here to sleep off the liquor, I woke up to a door slamming and Tasha naked in the bed. I am, as you can see, still fully dressed so I honestly have no idea what is going on!"

Chris looks to Tasha, "What are you doing in here?"

"Dimka caught me on the stairs and asked me to come lay down with him. Said he wanted to talk, and one thing led to another. He got dressed but I was still _so_ hot that I didn't."

"NO! That is not what happened Tasha and you know it! You are the worst type of human, do you know that. What was your goal here, break me and Rose up? Make me think I slept with you in hope I would again? Seriously, how delusional are you? How many times and ways to do I have to tell you. _**I DON'T FUCKING WANT YOU!**_ You very well may have cost me my only reason for breathing! You say you care, but you just ruined my life! _ **"**_ By this point I could no longer contain my anger, I lashed out at the first thing my fist would hit. Turned out to be the vanity mirror, not the best thing, but the pain was strangely calming me. I didn't mean to be so harsh to her, but right now my anger was boiling over. I couldn't stop my mouth from saying anything I didn't want it to. I took several deep breaths, trying to center myself.

"I have to go find Rose, I have to talk to her!"

I started moving toward the door, Ivan stopped me. "Let her go man, give her some time. She was already pissed off before, now she is livid. Don't go running to her before she is ready to talk to you."

"Ivan she needs to know that nothing happened, I was passed out. I didn't even know Tasha came into the room! I should have locked the fucking door."

"You can't do anything about this, right now." he pointed to Tasha who was still in the bed, wearing that stupid smile. "Let her go and calm down, then you can talk to her. She loves you Dimitri, she will come around."

"I'm going home, Good night."

 _ **RPOV**_

How could he? Honestly, was he that desperate for sex he had to give it to her! We promised to be each others first, to be each others only. How could he?

I ran down the stairs, tears already flowing. Adrian caught me by the arm.

"Rose, What's going on, I didn't even see you come in."

"What's going on is that your superstar up there is in bed with TASHA! So I am leaving before the worthless piece of shit can try to talk his way out of that one. "

"Whoa, hang on Rose. It probably isn't what your thinking."

"Really Adrian, so tell me, If you found Sydney in bed with a naked guy, what would you think?" He didn't say anything, "Exactly, so do me a favor, give him this and tell him to go to hell. I hope that fucking bastard gets herpes or some shit. I can't fucking believe this!" Handing Adrian the promise ring that has been on my finger the last 2 months, I stormed out of the house and back to my car. The engine road to life and I heard the tires squealing as they tried to grip the road.

I drove with no purpose, no direction, no destination. All I wanted was to put as much distance between me and that asshole as I could. Tunnel vision kicked in and I saw nothing around me, just the blur of lights and objects as the speedometer climbed higher and higher. I knew I should slow down and just go home, but he would look for me there. If he sees my car outside he will try to come and talk to me. I can't go home. Not yet. I was headed south and I figured I would just drive until the gas ran out. Fill up and keep driving. I had the credit card Dad had given me for emergencies. It had a high enough limit for me to drive through every state and still not be maxed out. I continued on for about 2 hours, going through Waco, I decided to pull off at the closest hotel I could and attempt to get a room.

I still had my fake ID Adrian had made for me and with an AMEX card, hopefully the clerk won't say much. I tried three different hotels before a little run down place gave me a room. He didn't even ask for an ID, maybe not the best place but right now I was desperate, and tired, very tired.

I walked into the room, the carpet was old and had wear patches in several spots. The bathroom was a mess, the floor was brown with dirt and rust around the shower. It was only big enough for a single shower stall and a toilet. The bed was about as hard as a stack of bricks, and the blankets smelt like eggs. Lovely. Well I just need to catch a few hours and then I will head back home. Not being able to get a decent hotel would keep this trip short. I should have known I can't pass for eighteen, with my height I still look like I am twelve most days.

Waking up the next morning, my entire body was sore. That bed was the most uncomfortable thing in the world, I probably would have been better off sleeping in the car. I looked at my phone, dead. Damn, I don't have a charger, I will have to grab one from a gas station. I checked out of the room, made a pit stop for a charger and some coffee. Time to go home.

 _ **DPOV**_

"DIMITRI ALEXANDER BELIKOV! GET YOU ASS DOWN HERE _NOW_!"

I stumbled my way out of bed, the small throbbing headache I had last night was now a full on jack hammer in my skull. The lights in the house were too bright for my eyes right now so I grabbed my sunglasses from the dresser and headed down stairs.

"Karo, there is no need to yell this early in the morning. Not to mention I have a massive headache right now."

"Oh I am sorry, let me be quieter. _WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!_ " She yelled twice as loud and directly in my face. Okay, I am guessing Vika filled her in on what happened last night. But still she was being way to loud for my liking right now.

"I didn't _do_ anything. I told everyone that last night. I know what happened, I walked up the stairs, fell on the bed and was asleep in a second. The next then I heard was the door slam. I didn't do anything. If something happened she did it without me knowing and I will report her."

"What is with all the yelling? Dimka, Karo, Whats going on?" Mama asked.

"Boy genius over here, slept with Tasha last night."

"For the last time, _**I did not sleep with her!**_ Why will no one believe me?"

"Maybe because your _girlfriend_ found her in bed with you, naked Dimitri! What do you expect us to think? Vika told me everything, how could you do that to Roza!"

"Dimitri Belikov, please explain to me what and how this happened?"

"Rose found out that Tasha was back and none of us told her. She saw Tasha jump on me and hug me after the game, she was pissed off and left. I called her and texted but she wouldn't answer. So we all went to Adrian's for the after party, I kept trying to call her and still nothing. I had drank quite a bit and was about to leave. Adrian told me to go upstairs and sleep it off. So that's what I did. I walked up the stairs, found an open room and fell instantly asleep. Fully clothed. I woke up to the door slamming, still fully clothed but my shoes had been taken off and my belt was undone. I thought maybe I tried to undress and failed. I felt the bed move and noticed someone else was in the bed. I knew it wasn't Rose so I jumped out of the bed and yelled at Tasha trying to figure out what was going on. She says we slept together, but I don't remember that, I remember falling asleep then the door slamming."

Mama was taking it all in, Karo still had a pissed look on her face. Mama finally spoke, "I don't know what to say my son, all I know is you better figure this out. Quickly. Roza is a part of this family and I would hate to see this destroy your relationship. Are you positive nothing happened?"

"I would hope I would remember my first time having sex. I don't feel any different than I did yesterday." Shouldn't I feel, I don't know, on top of the world if I had actually done it, no matter who it was with? I know when Ivan lost his virginity he couldn't stop smiling for a week. He walked around bragging.

"I can't say that you should or shouldn't feel different, but as I said, fix this."

I left the women in the living room, heading back into my room, on my nightstand was Roza's ring. I stared at it for 5 minutes. She had taken it off last night and gave it to Adrian. My heart shattered in my chest when he handed it to me. I put it in my wallet, hoping that soon enough it would be back on her finger and all this will be behind us. I tried to call Roza again, straight to voicemail. Her phone was off? She never turns her phone off. I showered quickly, dressed and headed back downstairs. Grabbing my truck keys, I left the house, first checking Rose's house to see if she was home. Her car wasn't in the drive, maybe she went to Lissa after last night. I will get the truth out of Tasha and then have Lissa get Rose to talk to me so we can fix this. I pulled up to Christians house and knocked on the door.

Mrs. Ozera opened the door, her eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying. "Morning, Mrs. Ozera, Is Christian home?"

"Hello Dimitri, He is but he is not up for seeing anyone right now. We are having some family trouble and he just needs some alone time. I'll let him know you came by."

"Oh, I am sorry to intrude, I hope everything is okay. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to reach out to myself or my family."

"Thank You, Dimitri"

** _ **TRIGGER WARNING****_

I walked back to my truck, what could be going on that has his mom crying and him not wanting to talk to anyone. I drove to Ivan's to see if he knew anything.

"Ivan, do you know what's up with Chris? I just went by his house and his mom had been crying and she said Chris wasn't up for seeing anyone."

"Dimitri, you might want to sit down."

"Okay, seriously, what is going on?"

He took a long breath, "Dimitri, Tasha tried to kill herself last night."

"What?! What happened?" I suddenly felt like the biggest jackass in the world. Sure I hated how she was trying to come between me and Rose. I hated how she constantly threw herself at me, but did I want her dead. No.

 _ ****Flashback Ivan POV****_

I was stunned, Chris and I just stared at Tasha. "What the hell were you thinking? Did you really think this would make a difference to him? You know all you did was make him hate you even more right?"

Tasha started crying, whole body wracking sobs. "I love him, I am the one he should be with. Why can't he see that, Why can't anyone see that?"

Chris walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders, she buried her head in his chest. "Tash, he has loved Rose since he was 8, no matter what you did, he was never going to see you that way. This, this just pushed him further away. He could have been your friend, why couldn't you just accept that."

None of us liked Tasha, since she was older she used to pick on all of us when we were kids. She thought she was so much better than us and we were dirt beneath her shoes. Only Dimitri was treated differently, which didn't make things better for anyone. Rose was always upset when Tasha would be around him, I hated going over to Chris's house because she would constantly flirt with Dimitri while we were trying to hang out. Chris loved her but hated her at the same time. I mean she is his sister, but no one wanted to go over to his house anymore because of her. The girls hated her because she would always make fun of them for their clothes or makeup. She is just a judgmental person and no one could stand her.

"I shouldn't have to accept that. _I LOVE HIM!_ I would be far better for him that the little bitch."

Chris let her go, he looked as stunned as I felt, Rose was like our sister. She was perfect for Dimitri, they balanced each other so well. He was cautious and thought everything out, she was spontaneous and reckless.

"You know what Tasha, you may be my blood, but Rose is more my sister than you have ever been. I can't believe I am related to someone so cold hearted and manipulative."

"Chrissie you don't mean that. Your my baby brother, your supposed to be on my side here."

"No, I am on the side of what is right, and this, this isn't right, Tasha. Just leave us all alone would you." turning to me, "Ivan lets go and see what kind of damage we have to control thanks to her."

We left the room and a crying Tasha behind. Down stairs the party had cleared out not long after Rose ran off. Adrian, Sydney, Lissa all sat in the living room. Vika had gone home with Dimitri.

"Has anyone talked to Rose since she left?" I asked the group, everyone shook their heads.

Lissa looked at me and Chris, "What do _you_ think happened? I can't believe that Dimitri would do that willingly."

"I don't know, it didn't look like anything happened other than Tasha wasn't dressed at all. Dimitri was still clothed, but honestly I have no idea. I don't want to believe it either, but from just the outside looking in, it doesn't look good." I didn't want to doubt my best friend, we have been through a lot together. But the cards were stacked against him right now.

"Right now I don't think it matters much, what matters is Rose is out there somewhere, heartbroken and Dimitri is likely to lose his mind if he can't fix this." Sydney said.

"Chris why don't you go get Tasha, take her home, I will take Lissa and we can all talk about this later. It's been a long day, we all need to settle and get some sleep." I suggested, it was now after midnight, I was tired.

Christian got up and went upstairs to get Tasha, next thing we heard was him screaming.

"Ivan get up here and help me, Lissa call 9-1-1. Tasha is bleeding!"

I bolted up the stairs while everyone sat shell shocked. I barely heard Lissa talking on the phone before I got the room. Tasha lay on the floor, still naked, blood all over her arms and legs. I went into the bathroom and grabbed as many towels as I could find. We applied pressure to all of the cuts trying to stop the bleeding. Though it seems she had already lost a lot of blood, so the bleeding had slowed on its own.

"This is my fault, I pushed her over the edge. I shouldn't have said those things. Tasha, forgive me, I am sorry. So so sorry, I love you."

"Chris, it's not your fault man. Don't think that, everything is going to be okay. Lissa called 9-1-1 and they are on the way." I tried to reassure him, but I honestly didn't know if Tasha was going to be okay at this point. All I could see is how much blood covered the carpet.

Paramedics arrived about 10 minutes later, Tasha was cold and barely breathing. She seemed to try to say something, I leaned in close to her, "Tell him I am sorry."

She stopped breathing.

 _ ****End Flashback****_

I sat there, not moving, speaking, blinking. Taking it all in, she really tried to kill herself, was this my fault. Were my words what drove her to this. I know I could never return her feelings, but maybe I could have tried to be her friend. Or at least not said the things I did. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know Dimitri, she lost a lot of blood, they were able to revive her in the ambulance, but I am not sure what is going to happen now."

I wanted her to get help, that is all she needs, just someone to give her a chance. I'm sure she's not a bad person, she just makes really bad choices.

"I need some air, I'll talk to you later, Ivan. Thanks for telling me."


	12. Chapter 12: Truth

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of VA, simply the plot.**_

 _ **Trigger Warning. This chapter contains mention of suicide, there will be no graphic details or death.**_

 _ **Chapter 12: Truth**_

 _ **RPOV**_

It took me an hour and a half to get home from the ratty hotel I stayed at. Passing by Dimitri's house I noticed his truck wasn't there. I didn't want to think about that right now, my mind would go to places it shouldn't. I walked into the house, setting my keys and purse down on the table, I collapsed onto the couch. Sleep took over.

 _Knock, Knock_

I rolled over and fell off the couch, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Looking to the clock, it was after 5pm. Had I really slept that long, I got home just after 9 this morning.

 _Knock, Knock_

"I am coming, jeez. You better be selling girl scout cookies or something good." I yelled getting to the door. I didn't know who I expected to be there, but it definitely wasn't him.

"Sparky, is everything okay, you look like hell!"

"Can I talk to you Rose?"

"Of course, come in, would you like some coffee, tea, anything?"

"Coffee would be great, I didn't sleep much last night. Thanks."

"Me either, so what's up Christian, you really don't look good."

"Have you talked to anyone today." he asked, I shook my head. "Well, first I want to tell you, and hear me out before you say anything," I nodded for him to continue. "Dimitri didn't do anything with Tasha, She told me. She went to the room and tried to wake him up, when she couldn't she made it look like they had just to cause a fight."

"Why would she do that? I know she has a thing for him, but doesn't she see that was going to hurt him more than anything. I know she hates me, but if she cared about him she wouldn't do this."

"She isn't well Rose." Well that I knew, she was crazy. Chris took a breath and continued. "She tried to kill herself last night. She cut her arms and legs and lost a lot of blood. She was delirious when I saw her this morning, but could talk a little. She asked me to tell you she is sorry and that nothing happened. She made it look that way hoping you would break up with him and he would go to her."

I was completely shocked, I had no idea she was going down that kind of road.

Christian continued, "Dimitri went and saw her today, she told him the same thing I just told you and he accepted her apology." Of course he did, he can forgive easily, one thing I love so much about him.

"I should go and see her. Talk to her face to face. Not that I don't trust your words, but I would rather hear it from her." I also wanted to see her, see how she was. I felt bad for her.

"I figured as much, come on, I'll drive."

We pulled up to the hospital and I could see Dimitri's truck in the parking lot. Making our way up to the fourth floor I looked at Christian. "She really isn't well, is she, is it bad?"

"They bandaged her up really well, and she was starting to get color back in her face when I left around two. She will need some psychiatric help and a lot of support, but hopefully, one day, she will be okay."

We stepped out of the elevator and into the waiting area. I could see Lissa, Ivan and Vika sitting together on the right side. The familiar bolt of electricity ran through me and drew my eyes to the other corner of the room.

"Roza.", was all he said. He looked pained, like someone had taken away his puppy.

"Not yet. I am not ready, I want to talk to her first."

He nodded and Chris led me back to Tasha's room. We wound around the halls, her room was in the far back. I started thinking I should have laid a trail of breadcrumbs so I can find my way out of here.

"I'll wait out here, if you need anything, just call. Okay?"

"Thanks." I walked into the room and just stared at her for a moment. She was awake watching some reality TV show about teenage werewolves. She was a lot paler than normal, but looked to have some life to her. Her eyes were dilated and glossy.

"Rose, is that you?" Her voice so small, I felt even worse now.

"Yes, it's me Tasha. Chris told me you had something to tell me."

"I am sorry. I never thought about my actions causing so much pain for everyone. Chris hates me, Dimitri hates me, you hate me, everyone. I am so sorry. I didn't mean it. I just wanted him to love me." Her words came out slow, and a little slurred. She sounded out of it, they must have her on a lot of drugs to help with the blood loss.

"I can understand that, I wanted that too before we started dating. But Tasha, you knew he didn't like you like that. You knew it would hurt him. Why? Why did you do it? Honestly."

"I have always envied you Rose. I know I shouldn't but I did, I still do. I was jealous and wanted what you had. I am sorry that I went about it the wrong way. He didn't do anything and I didn't do anything to him. I just made it look that way, I knew you would think we had and would leave."

"Thank you for telling me the truth. I hope you can get the help you need. Maybe in time, we can all be friends. There is someone out there for you, you will find him someday. Right now though, focus on getting better."

I guess having her in a doped out state of mind worked in my favor. She was being a hundred percent honest, I doubt she realized it. Hell, I doubt she will fully remember this conversation. I still hated her in a sense. She tried to ruin everything between Dimitri and I. But, right now, all I could feel for her was pitty. She really is sick and in need of help. She isn't able to tell the difference in right and wrong, love or hate, anything.

With that I left the room, Christian was still waiting by the door. "Come on Sparky, let's get out of here."

We walked back out to the waiting area, Ivan and Vika were no longer there, Lissa sat in a corner with an outdated magazine in her hands. Dimitri was standing looking out the window over the city. He didn't seem to notice us come out of the doors. I walked over and wrapped my arms around him from behind. Laying my head on his back and taking in a deep breath of his aftershave.

 _ **DPOV**_

Rose had been back with Tasha for about twenty minutes now. What could they be saying to each other. I hope Tasha was telling her the truth. When I got here around three, she was barely coherent, but she told me the truth. I felt bad for her. I am still mad about what happened, it could have all been avoided, but she really just needs help. Something in her brain isn't working right, she doesn't understand what she did or why. Or rather, she doesn't understand the consequences of what she did.

I stood, looking out into the Dallas night, the city was lit up like Christmas. On the fourth floor, I have a pretty good view. The sun was almost completely gone, it was after seven thirty now. I would have to leave soon, the drive home would take an over hour and I have practice in the morning.

I felt her pull before I felt her body. I stayed staring out into the night, waiting to see if she approached me or not. Her arms wrapped around my waist from behind, I heard her take a deep breath. Slowly I turned in her arms, bring us face to face.

"I am so sorry, Milaya. I never meant for any of this to happen. I tried to get her to back off weeks ago. I'm sorry for not telling you she was in town, I'm sorry for everything."

"It's okay, Dimitri. I mean, I was mad, like really mad. But, looking at her, she really needs help. I will get over all of this, just as you will, we will be okay."

"You're amazing." I lowered my lips to hers, brushing softly against them, "YA lyublyu tebya, Roza." I kissed her hard, I poured every pent up emotion I held over the last 24 hours into this kiss. I licked her bottom lip and she granted me entrance. My tongue battled hers for dominance, she like to fight me, but as always I won. I lifted her up and turned around to where she was sitting on the window seal. My lips left her mouth and started their way down her jaw, neck, to the sweet spot behind her ear.

"Comrade, I love you and I love this, but we are still in the hospital waiting room. Plus, if you don't stop soon, I don't know how much longer I could hold out on our promise."

She was right. I pulled back with great reluctance. "Come on Roza. Let's go home."

Saying goodbye to Christian and Lissa we walked hand and hand to my truck. I was reminded of her ring in my wallet when I didn't feel it on her finger. I stopped her just before she got in the truck. Pulling out my wallet and fishing out her ring, "I think this belongs to you." Lifting her hand, I slid the ring back on her finger, right where it belongs and kissed it.

"Thank you, I'm sorry I gave it back. I should have known better, but I was just too upset to think straight."

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Rose. I am the one who kept things from you and I should have never gone to the party. Hell, I didn't want to go, but everyone said I needed to because I was the star. I should have just gone home and none of this would have happened. We wouldn't have fought, I wouldn't have gotten drunk to the point I blacked out and Tasha wouldn't be in the hospital." It really was all my fault, everything that happened. If I had done just one thing differently, everything would have changed.

What was it that Babushka told me, " _focus on the present, the future is there and always changing, always."_ One choice, one bad decision, everything can change. I promised myself, from this point forward, I would never keep anything from Rose again. I wouldn't jeopardize our relationship by keeping secrets.

I drove the hour and forty minutes home, never letting go of Rose's hand. We didn't talk, we didn't need to. We have always understood each other so well that we hardly needed words at times. We could sit in silence together for hours and it wouldn't be strained or awkward. I pulled into her driveway, killed the engine and walked around to open her door. Taking her hand I led her up to the porch. This reminded me of 2 months ago, the night I told her about my college choice. She had asked me to stay the night. Would she ask me again? Could I say yes? With everything that had gone on I didn't want to leave her side. The last 24 hours have been insane, I wanted her, I needed her.

She looked at me, "I think you should go home, Dimitri."

That hurt, maybe she didn't forgive me. I wanted to beg for her forgiveness and tell her how much I love her, but I couldn't speak. I was so scared that she was never going to get over this, never going to forgive me.

"I'm not mad anymore, Comrade. I just don't think it would be wise for you to stay tonight. I really would like to keep our promise. With everything that has happened, I don't think I could control myself if you were in my bed."

"So, you do forgive me?" I gave her my full smile.

"Is that what your worried about? Comrade, I love you. I could never truly stay mad at you."

"With what you said to Adrian, I would have thought differently."

"I was pissed when I said that. How would you feel in my situation? I may not have expressed my anger in the best words, but I couldn't help it at the time."

"I understand," and I did. That is how I am feeling about my words to Tasha. In my anger, I said things that would normally never come from me. "Sladkikh snov moya lyubov'."

"Sweet dreams, Comrade. I love you." She tilted her head back and stood on her toes. I gave her a sweet kiss and watched her walk inside.

When I got home, I went straight into my room. Mama, Karo and Sonja were all at the kitchen table talking. They didn't try to talk to me as I walked with my head down.

I sat on my bed, re-thinking about the night and day I had. Something that kept plaguing my mind was how long Tasha has been sick. This bout of reckless choices and the suicide attempt didn't come from nowhere. She must have been feeling down for some time. I felt horrible for her, she has probably been dealing with demons for a while and no one helped her. On top of that, I said some really horrible things. Again, I thought, did my words push her over the edge? Was it a combination of mine and Christians? I never realized how simple words, kind or not, could change a person's life.

We really should be kinder to people, no matter what.

Author's Note:

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my story. I really appreciate the support and I am glad to see you are liking it.

Second, I am going to tell you a little about myself. Plus something that happened in my family, if you don't like sad stuff you may not want to read the rest.

I hate Tasha, point blank, anyone who sees my comments on other stories, I loathe her. BUT, as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to happen and how. I thought back to my cousin. He battled daily with demons, much like myself, but he didn't have the support system that I have. He was living a lie everyday and he hated it. One day, he took his life. I was devastated, I wished I could have been there for him, done something to help him. But he lived across the country and I could do nothing now. I didn't even know he was feeling so down and out. So I wanted to put something out there, something to show people, some people don't make choices to hurt others. They do it because they see no other way or they don't know how to say what they are trying to get you to understand. Now, I don't say this to justify choices of everyone, but In a case like I have played for Tasha. Your words really can make or break a person. They say sticks and stones may break my bones, but words could never hurt me. That is a bold faced lie, words can shatter you, break your heart and mind into nothing, until you feel nothing any more. When that happens, you feel like life isn't worth living. I have been there, as well as several of my friends. Please, if you take nothing else from this story, please take that little bit. Be kind. Smile at a stranger. Hold the door for the person behind you. ONE kind act, can change a life.

Sorry to rant on that, but I felt I need to justy why I made Rose and Dimitri feel sympathy toward Tasha. Like I said, I hate the original character, but I decided to give her a chance in this. Even if it wasn't my original plan.


	13. Chapter 13:Championship

_**Disclaimer: I do not own VA.**_

 _ **Chapter 13: Championship**_

 _ **DPOV**_

The last six weeks have been exhausting. We made it all the way to the State semi-finals. After winning bi-district, area, regional quarter and semifinals, we only had 2 games left. State semi-finals and then State itself. We had 2 days left to prepare for the first game, state would follow the day after the semi-finals. We had been working overtime, running drills and batting practice an extra 2 hours every day.

We graduated last week, but with the way the season runs, the final games are after graduation. I had to laugh at the thought, I was no longer in high school, but still had to be here every morning. I would stay the night here if it meant I would have a Championship ring on my finger.

Everything with Rose and I was back to normal. We talked a few times about the Tasha incident and worked out all our insecurities and fears that the night had brought out. Tasha was also doing better. Her parents had her sent to a treatment center in Dallas proper. Rose and I alternate with Chris and Lissa on visiting her on the weekends. Having people go and talk to her has been helping a lot. Rose and Lissa will continue to go when Chris and I are gone for college.

Practice finished for the day and I had a surprise planned for Roza. Not quite as much as I did when we went to the concert, but something I know she will enjoy nonetheless. I was taking her to a Texas Rangers game. We have lived in Arlington for years and have never been. I could never afford the tickets, they were over a hundred dollars a piece for the seats I wanted. Right on the first base line, behind the Rangers dugout. She was a huge Joey Gallo fan, the first baseman, so this would put her right next to him. Now, I could only hope he is playing first today, he plays a lot of positions, may luck be on my side.

I showered and dressed in my cargo shorts and new Rangers Jersey, I got one for Rose too. I had the truck detailed yesterday, with all the extra practice it had gotten really dirty. I wanted everything to be perfect today. Carefully getting in I fired up and headed the few houses down to Rose's. I pulled up out front as she came walking out the door. I think I stopped breathing, for two reasons. Reason one, she was on time, that my friend, is a rare occurrence. Reason two, I had told her I got her a shirt to wear so to where a tank top or something. Well, or something, she decided was a lace camisole that was practically see thru. What is this woman trying to do to me? I got out of the truck and handed her the gift bag. The quicker I could get her to put the jersey on, the faster my pants would be loose again.

"A gift for today, my love." I kissed her cheek as she reached into the bag.

"You got me a jersey!" she turned it to see the back, "It's a Joey Gallo one! Oh my God, I love you, Comrade, you are the best! Who do you have?"

"Andrew Cashner." He was my favorite starting pitcher. The guy was a monster on the mound, I learned a lot from watching his form.

"So I take it were going to the game?"

"Yes ma'am, now get in the truck so we can make it in time for batting practice." She hated when I said "ma'am" to her, but I was so happy, the southern gentleman side of me was coming out.

Walking up to the stadium, Rose looked around in awe. It was huge to say the least. There were player banners hanging from the rafters outside, she pointed out her favorite players as we walked. Going through the gate by home plate we walked straight ahead and the field opened up before us. Now, I don't know about you, but the smell of fresh cut grass, ah it is like heaven. It was a lot bigger than I expected. I was overwhelmed with the amount of stands and vendors that were here. I envisioned my picture on a banner hanging from the rafter. Fans walking around in a jersey with my name on the back. Myself on the pristine cut grass, the perfectly packed dirt mound in the center of the diamond.

"You will be out there soon, Comrade. I just know it."

I know she was just supporting me and encouraging my dreams, but honestly, I think I was having a heart attack. Could I really do that, be in front of all these people. I had a hard enough time the last few weeks with playoffs. The crowds had gotten bigger the further we went. By the Regional Semi-finals I was having a really rough time concentrating. We still won, but it was a lot harder on my mind than before.

"You okay, Dimitri?"

"Yea, sorry, was just thinking. Do you really think I could do it? I mean, could I really be a Major League pitcher?"

"Of course you can, you know you can. You're just overthinking right now. We have never been to a real pro game before, I understand you being overwhelmed. It will be okay, you will get used to it in time and you will be great!"

"Thank you. Now let's get drinks and snacks, our seats are over there."

"On the first base line. Comrade, those tickets are expensive!"

"Only the best for you, milaya. Come on."

I don't know that I have ever seen Rose smile this much, it hasn't left her face since she saw Gallo during batting practice. If I made it to the majors I may have some competition. We didn't win the game, but Rose and I had a blast. We danced during the inning intermissions, laughed at the dancing horse, the team mascot, and even wound up on the kiss cam. I wore my full smile all day, I usually reserve that for when it's just me and Rose, but today it was out for everyone to see. I wanted everyone to know how happy she made me. The happiest man on earth.

 _ **RPOV**_

I couldn't believe he brought me to a Rangers game. I have always wanted to go, it's not that I didn't have money to, but Dimitri refused to let me buy him a ticket. He hated anyone paying his way for anything, stupid male pride.

Even though we lost, I had an amazing time. Seeing Dimitri smile all day was the greatest thing on earth. He had been really tense lately with State around the corner. They play the semi-finals day after tomorrow, if they win, state is the next day. If they lose, it would be the end of their season. They want the championship badly, but even if they don't win, they have still made history. St. Vlad's has never gone this far into the playoffs before.

Dimitri walked me to my door and kissed me goodnight. "I love you, Roza. I had an amazing time with you today."

"That sounds like a first date line." we laughed "I had a great time too, Comrade. I was thinking, would you like to stay tomorrow night, I know you sleep like a rock with me, that way you would be well rested for the game."

"I wish I could Roza, but coach has a hotel floor booked for us. We are driving to Austin tomorrow afternoon and will be staying there. We have the early time reserved for practice."

That's right, they were playing the last two games at Dell Diamond. Home of the Round Rock Express Triple-A team. Triple-A is the minor leagues and Round Rock Express was owned by the Texas Rangers.

"Oh right, I guess the girls and I need to see how were going to get a hotel room. If you guys win, we could just stay there so we didn't have to keep driving back and forth, four hours is a lot each way."

"Well you're in luck. Since Me, Chris and Ivan are the captains, we each have our own room. You will just have to put your ninja skills to work getting inside. If Tanner found out, I don't know what he would do."

"What can he do? He isn't going to bench any of you, he would be forfeiting the game if he did."

He laughed, "This is true, but I don't want to push my luck."

"Alright, well I will see you tomorrow night then. I love you. Sweet dreams."

With one last kiss and I love you, he walked back to the truck to go home. I watched him pull in his drive before I went in the house. Tonight was perfect, tomorrow would be better.

"Vika, can you ever keep track of your freaking shirt!" I swear she would lose her head if it wasn't attached.

"I just had it, it was right next to my suitcase and now its gone. Paul, did you do something to my shirt?"

"No, Auntie Vika." he smirked, the kid had a death wish right now. Not from Vika, but from me. We had a four hour drive ahead of us. We need to go, like now.

"Pauly, hun, did you do something? Because we really need to go, Uncle Dimka and Ivan are waiting for us."

"It's under the bed." He lowered his head, poor kid. I knew he didn't want us to leave, he wanted to go. I just couldn't fit another body, no matter how small, in the car. Plus, he would have to share a room with Dimitri and I, that wasn't happening. Even though we wouldn't be doing anything. I didn't like the idea of his nephew in the same bed with us.

Vika grabbed her shirt and zipped up her suitcase. She packed like we were leaving for a week, her and Lissa were too much alike some days. I only packed two extra outfits. We said goodbye to Mama and the family and headed out.

Our four hour drive wound up taking closer to six. With evening traffic and having to stop twice for Lissa to use the bathroom, she had the bladder of a toddler. We finally arrived at the hotel at 8:30 pm. Dimitri had texted me all the room numbers and told us to knock once, then wait and knock twice. That way they knew it was us at their doors. I bid the girls a good night and headed to room 231.

 _Knock, pause, Knock knock_

Dimitri opened the door, wearing only in his blue and white boxer shorts. I walked in and took a good look. Man, coach apparently spared no expense on these rooms. There was a huge king sized bed in the middle of the room, two small nightstands on either side, a 50 inch TV mounted to the wall in front of the bed and a eight drawer dresser under it. A mini fridge sat in the corner and a microwave next to it. The only thing it was missing is a kitchen. Walking to the left, there is a decent sized wardrobe and then the bathroom. OH MY! It had a two person Jacuzzi tub and a shower that could easily fit 5 people, without touching each other or the walls.

"Bit much if you ask me, but I am not going to complain." Dimitri said as I looked around.

"Yea, you can say that. I wouldn't mind a bath in the Jacuzzi though. Care to join me?"

"Roza." His accent came out a bit thicker just then, his voice husky as he rolled the R of my name. Man this waiting thing is really getting hard. Not only were we wanting to wait till marriage, but Dimitri just had to point out the other day, since he is 18 and I am only 16 it is technically illegal. Age of consent in Texas is 17 so we would legally have to wait till next year anyways. It's a bunch of crap if you ask me, but in the end I guess it didn't matter.

I took a long soak, after all the driving I was stiff and the hot water and jets relaxed my muscles. I dressed in my singlet and boy shorts, crawled in to the bed with my Russian God. I gave him a kiss and rested my head on his chest. He wrapped me in his arms and kissed my hair.

"Good night, Comrade."

"Good night, Milaya."

 _ **DPOV**_

The team rushed the field as Mason crossed home to score the winning run. STATE HERE WE COME. I couldn't believe it. We had given everything we had against the Mustangs. They were really good, but tonight, we were better. Final score 4 to 3. We were all jumping around on the home plate, the crowd was insane, hollering our name at the top of their lungs. I caught Rose's eyes as we were coming back toward the dugout, she came down to the stairs that lead up to the stands. She had tears in her eyes, pride and love written over her face. I jumped up onto the railing and kissed her. I saw flashes around us but paid no attention to it. The only thing that mattered right then was My Roza, well and the fact we had won.

I pulled back when coach started yelling at me to detach myself from my girlfriend and get to the locker room. I pecked her lips one more time and hopped down.

We all headed to the locker room and waiting on coach to start his speech.

"Alright gentlemen, you played an amazing game tonight. I can not say that I am not proud. You have done things this school has never seen and I am honored to be the one coaching you young men. But, we are not finished, we have one more game tomorrow. We will be playing the Strigoi, they are undefeated, just like us. They are dominating the offensive side of the game, but they have several weak spots on their defense. Their third baseman is huge, so he isn't as agile as most. If you can angle your hits to the gaps just right, he won't react fast enough. The second baseman is really short and can't jump but a foot in the air. So over his head is a base hit every time. The pitcher has several tells for if he is going to throw back or throw home. If he lifts his back foot twice he will be throwing back, so watch for that. Other than that, just play the game and have fun. You have accomplished greatness here. You all are already Champions in my book. Belikov, break us down and we can all get some sleep. You will need it. 8 am practice tomorrow."

We huddled together and recited the "lord's prayer", it was a tradition the school started a long time ago. When finished, we stood up and everyone put their hands into the middle.

"Champions on three, one, two, three." Everyone yelled and we broke apart.

Loading onto the bus we headed back to the hotel. I had given Roza the room key this morning so she could get in before we got back. I knocked on the door with our secret code and she opened up. She was already showered and dressed for bed. I gave her a quick kiss and headed for the shower myself. Finishing quickly, I climbed into bed with the love of my life and fell blissfully asleep.

6 am came a lot quicker than I thought it would. My body was sore and tired from the constant playing over the last 2 days. I filled the tub with hot water, as hot as it would go, I slowly slid myself in. Relaxing as the hot water went to work on my muscles. I turned on the back jets and let that work out all the tension in my shoulders. Rose was still dead asleep and would be for the next several hours I'm sure. I got dressed into my practice shorts and T-shirt. Today we wouldn't be doing anything to rigorous. We didn't want to tire ourselves out too much. First pitch was at 2pm, so we would only do some batting and a few drills. Then back at 1pm to warm up for the game.

I walked out of the room just as Chris and Ivan came out of theirs. They of course looked worse than I did.

"Please tell me you guys actually got some sleep last night. We need to be on our A-Game today."

"I did, but man, your sister snores worse than you do." Ivan said.

I busted out laughing. It was true, Vika really did snore loudly, "Just think, you chose her for the rest of your life too. Good luck, bro."

"Oh what a man does for love."

"Ain't that the truth! At least Viktoria just snores, Lissa hits. Hard."

We all laughed at that one. I guess I got the luck of the draw, Rose doesn't move when she is asleep and if she does, I move with her. Our bodies are always touching some way, we're completely in sync, even asleep.

"Rose doesn't do anything weird or annoying in her sleep?" Ivan asked.

"No. She just..sleeps. She doesn't snore, talk or hit."

"Lucky." they said at the same time. I laughed again.

Practice was easy, after being up for a little bit and moving my muscles were feeling a lot better. Coach arraigned for us to have a huge brunch at 11 in the conference room of the hotel. We ate and laughed and tried not to think to hard about the game. If we started to think to hard about it, mistakes would be made, we couldn't afford mistakes.

Christian, Ivan and I were in charge of assigning the new team captains for next year. We had to make that announcement today. Once everyone was done eating I called attention to the room.

"Alright guys, with us leaving, we have picked your team captains for next year." Ivan and Christian stood beside me, "I have chosen Eddie Castile for my slot."

"Mason Ashford for me." Ivan said.

"Adrian Ivashkov for me." Chris followed.

"We trust that you three will uphold what has been built here this year. Look out for your teammates and help each other, on and off the field. We wish all of you the best of luck in the next season. Now. Let's get ready to kick some Strigoi Ass!" I said, everyone hollered and we broke away from the conference room.

"Hey can you three hold back a second? Look, we know you will take care of the team, that's why we picked you. But we each have a personal favor to ask as well." I paused, looking at Christian and Ivan, "We want to ask, would you please keep an eye on our girls for us? We know they can take care of themselves and they have each other for when we are away. But if you could just watch out for them. We would really appreciate it."

Eddie spoke first, "We're family Belikov, You don't have to ask, we already planned on it." Mason and Adrian nodded in agreeance.

"Thank You. Let's go."

Bottom of the Ninth, we're batting. The game has been back and forth all night. We couldn't score one without them coming back and scoring two. The score right now was 6 to 3, bases were loaded, two outs. I was up to bat. I felt just like I did during the Jefferson game. All eyes are on me, everyone is depending on me to get the win. I needed a grand slam, a home run that brought everyone in, or at least a hit so that Trey could get a chance to bat. Trey hasn't been hitting so hot tonight, so really, it was all on me. Again, no pressure right. Right now, I wish I wasn't the best player on the team.

I looked up to find Roza, she was sitting with my whole family. They drove down this morning, I didn't even know it till I took the mound and I was searching to find Rose in the stands. _Breath Dimitri, just breath, focus on each pitch, pay no mind to anyone else._

Roza yelled, "I love you, Comrade. You got this, baby!"

I smiled to myself and took to the box. Breath.

First pitch, Strike. Okay, I've seen it, now time to put bat to the ball. Breathe.

Second Pitch, coming in low, ball. Breathe.

Third Pitch, outside, ball. Breathe.

Forth pitch, middle of the plate. I rotated my hips with my bat, connect, foul. Breathe.

Fifth pitch, low, ball. Breathe. Full count now, 3 balls, 2 strikes. I have to connect, I have to battle this out, I have to hit, I have to win.

Sixth pitch, outside corner, swing, connect, foul. Breathe.

I hit three more foul balls, I was frustrated, so was the pitcher, soon he would mess up. He would throw one right over the center of the plate and I would launch it into next year. I just had to keep battling.

Tenth pitch, here it is, right over the center of the plate. I stepped forward, rotated my hips and heard the beautiful sound of a home run. You could tell by the sound off the bat, that ball was not coming down in the playing field. The crowd was already screaming, I could hear my Mama and sisters, I looked back at them for a split second and smiled ear to ear. I laid my bat down and started to round the bases, Mason, Eddie and Chris crossed over home. I came around third base, the whole team was standing around home plate. Just like the Jefferson game, I jumped right on top of the plate from 5 feet away.

I was a State Champion.


	14. Chapter 14: See You Later

_**Chapter 14: See You Later**_

 _ **RPOV**_

He is leaving today.

I sat in my bedroom, staring at the photo album I had made for him. I have been working on it for a week straight. Pictures from childhood to now, all of us. The most recent being from this summer. We went everywhere, Galveston, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, even the small towns, Belton, Wichita Falls, Odessa, anywhere the road would take us. Dad gave us pretty much and unlimited account to travel with. We honestly barely touched it, with gas, food and hotels, there was still a lot left.

"Kiz, isn't it time for Dimitri to leave? Shouldn't you be with him."

"I'm scared, Baba." I hardly ever call him, Baba. Only when I was little and hurt or scared of something, much like I am right now.

"Oh, Kizim, there is nothing to worry about. What you and Dimitri have, it's real. As much as it pains me to think about my 16 year old daughter already having found the love of her life, I know you and him will be just fine. He is a good man, let him do what he needs to, to be able to provide a comfortable and beautiful future together."

"I know you're right, but I don't want him to go. I don't want to lose him. We have been through so much, I don't know what will happen and that terrifies me."

"You can never predict the future, Rosemarie. You will worry yourself into an early grave if you try. Trust in your heart, trust in your love together and let the cards fall as they may."

"Thank you, Baba."

"You are most welcome. Now get down there and see your man off to college."

 _ **DPOV**_

"Do you have everything, Dimka?" Mama asked for the hundredth time today. I had packed all week and have checked and rechecked that I had everything I needed. Mine and Ivan's belongs were all loaded into the back of my truck, we would be driving to Vanderbilt today.

"Yes Mama, I've made sure that I would not forget anything."

"You know I just worry, my baby boy is going off to college and I can't stand that you won't be here everyday. This is hard for a parent, one day you will understand."

"I know, Mama, I know. I will be back home for Thanksgiving break before you know it. Then Christmas and New Years, before you can blink it will be all over."

I am the first child to leave home and go to college, none of us ever thought we would get the chance. I worked hard for this, I was not going to let this chance go to waste. I gave my mother and sisters hugs and made my way to the truck. Roza was supposed to be here, but she isn't answering her phone. I have tried to call, text, face-time, nothing. She had seemed okay these last few weeks. We spent the summer going to all sorts of hot spots in the state. Abe had given her a summer allowance that was more than I've ever made in a year. He told us to spare no expense because business was good, and we deserved to make as many memories as we could. With every week that had passed you could tell things were getting tense. She started to close herself off from me. Preparing to have to say goodbye. I continued to tell her it is never goodbye for us, just see you later. I never like the word goodbye, seems so final, like you can't come back from it. I will be back, I have to come back, my whole life is here, wrapped in one person.

"Comrade." Rose's voice came out hoarse and weak. She had been crying, and from the looks of her eyes, crying a lot.

"Oh Roza, please love, don't cry. This isn't goodbye, you know that. I will be back before you know it."

"I know, doesn't mean I have to like it." Wrapping her up in my arm I held on tight. Like she might float away if I loosened just a little. "I don't want to keep you, you need to get on the road if your going to avoid rush hour."

"Just one more minute, please." Nodding into my chest she tightened her hold. I pulled back slightly and lifted her head, cupping her cheeks in both hands I kissed her lightly. "Are you sure you want to wait?" I already knew her answer, but I had to check one more time. I don't want her to feel like she has to say yes, or give up anything for me.

"How many times do I have to tell you Dimitri? Yes, I am sure, I made you a promise and I intend to keep it. Are you having doubts?"

"Never, I just hate feeling like I am holding you back from living a full life. Holding out for me, only to see me a handful of weeks a year. I love you so much, Rose. I want you to be happy."

"Then stop. Stop worrying, stop asking me if I am sure, just stop, Dimitri. I will never choose anyone else. Your stuck with me for the rest of your life. I hope you realize what you've gotten yourself into."

Oh My Roza, My Beautiful Roza, I know exactly what I have gotten myself into. I smiled at her, "What's that?" I just noticed the gift bag she had in her hand.

"Just something for you to have. When you miss home, miss me."

I opened the bag to find a photo book. It had hundreds of pictures, from all ages. I wonder how long it to her to make this, it was the best gift I have ever been given.

"Thank you, Roza. I guarantee I will be looking at it often."

She laughed, though it sounded forced. "It's time to go Comrade, Be safe, Я люблю тебя, Дмитрий Беликов, со всем, что я есть." (I love you Dimitri Belikov, with everything I am.)

I stared at her for a moment, I didn't expect her to say that. Well, I expected her to tell me she loves me, but I did not expect her to say it in my native tongue. She has been asking me for years to teach her Russian, but she only wanted to know the swear and dirty words.

"Where did you learn that?"

"I may have had a little help." Nodding in Mama's direction I caught the glint in my mother's eyes. My family loves Rose just as much as I do, I know they will help her through this. I looked back to Rose and give her one more long kiss. Holding her by the waist securely, as she wrapped her arms around my neck and ran her hands through my hair.

"I have to go, Roza, I love you, so so much. Take care of them for me, please."

"Always."

I gave Mama one more hug and jumped in the truck. Ivan was looking out to where Vika was standing just before, she ran in the house as soon as his door shut. This was going to be just as hard for him as it is for me. But the girls have each other, and he has me, we will all be okay.

"Ready to roll?" I asked.

He cleared his throat, "Yupp, let's get this show on the road."

Author's Note:: So there we have it! End of part one. I intend to have 3 parts, as I said earlier, the second part will have a time jump, simply because there is only so much meaningless events that could fill the time. Since baseball season runs from February to June, the other months would be just schooling, and there isn't much there that would pertain or contribute to what I am trying to accomplish here.

Now for a little fun, What would you like to see happen during Dimitri and Roses time apart? I have the draft for part two complete but I would love to hear ideas from everyone.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing this. I hope to see everyone continue on this journey with me, Rose and Dimitri.

Much Love,

Katarina


	15. Part 2: Chapter 1: Honey, I'm Good

_**Welcome back my lovelies! I have been working on this story for months now. I have most of it complete, but I had to change a few things around. Hopefully, updates will continue to be constant. I know how much I hate waiting on updates, though I do understand the struggle, but that is why I have almost completed the story before posting anything. Now, This is Part 2, College life for Dimitri and Rose graduating High School. Each chapter will have a song that it is inspired by, I look forward to continuing the journey with you all and hearing your thoughts. So, Now without further ado. Oh and of course I don't own VA or the Characters. One can dream thought, right?**_

 _ **Run Home, Comrade- Part 2**_

* * *

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 1: Honey, I'm Good**_

 _ **RPOV**_

"I just don't get this! Why do I even need math? Dimitri is going to make a bunch of money and all I will be doing is sitting at home spending it."

Lissa laughed, "Such a bright future you have set for yourself, Rose. Look its not that hard, and plus if you don't graduate, Dimitri will have your head on a platter."

"No he wouldn't, he loves me, I could rob 30 banks and he wouldn't be mad."

"Not a good defense. Now, if X is 250 and equals A2 + C4 and C4 is 50, what is A2?" What did she just ask?

"AHH! You're making my brain bleed, I am done with this today." I slammed by book closed and rested my head.

Senior year was kicking my butt. The classes seemed ten times harder and we had a lot more homework every night. The only thing I could focus on right now was Dimitri coming home for Spring break next week. He has been in college for over a year and a half now and is excelling beautifully. On and Off the baseball field. He was majoring in Business and Finance, that way should he not be able to play anymore, he has a good degree for a back up.

Last month he was talking to a recruiter from Tampa Bay who offered him a contract. We had talked about it at great lengths and decided he would complete his degree before signing a Majors deal. Surprisingly, well maybe not, the recruiter said he would be back when Dimitri graduated, most likely with a better deal. His ERA (earned run average, how many runs he allows during his time pitching) right now is at a 2.3, which is extremely good. The year before was 5.8 for the season, so right now he has cut that in half, but he still has half the season left. If he continues like this though, he will be one of the top five pitchers in college.

"Alright Rose, If you're going to give up, I am heading home. I have a skype date with Christian at six."

"Tell Sparky I said hey, and make sure he isn't doing anything I wouldn't do."

"You know that leaves the door wide open for just about anything, right?"

"Exactly, Love you Liss."

"Love you, too."

I stayed in my booth at Karo's work, head still on my book. The door chimed, inwardly groaned as the two guys walked in and headed toward me.

"Hey Rose, what are you doing here all alone?" Jesse asked. Jesse is Ivan cousin, but other than blood the two are nothing alike. Jesse is an egotistical jackass, to put it nicely. His lap dog, Ralf, and him have always been trouble and with Dimitri and Ivan gone, they have become even more of a nuisance.

"I am studying, waiting on my sister to get off work. Now if you don't mind, I have a lot to do and no time for idiots."

"You don't have a sister. Unless, are you talking about Belikovs sister? You know you're not related right."

"Well, she will be my sister- _in-law,_ if you want to be technical, when I marry Dimitri. So yes, _My Sister_."

"You aren't going to marry him Rose, don't you know he has already replaced you. We have family that lives out there, they tell me all about Dimitri and Ivan with a different girl at the clubs every weekend."

"Go to hell, Jesse. I know exactly what they are doing, you can't fool me. Now, if you don't mind, I have studying to do." I opened my book back up and pretended to work the problems. In reality, Jesse's words were spinning in my head. Dimitri calls me almost every night and we Skype three to four times a week. He isn't cheating on me, is he? Has he found someone better?

"Don't believe me, check it out." Jesse showed me a picture on his phone. It was dark, but there was no mistaking the six foot seven Russian in a duster, kissing the hand of a very pretty girl. Ivan sitting right next to him, smiling like a cheshire cat. I tried not to show any emotion, but at this point, I think I am failing.

I slammed my book closed, "I don't have time for this, Jesse. It's just a picture, you don't know what was being said or happening." I don't know if I was trying to convince Jesse, or myself. Either way, I was hurt, I needed to get out of here.

"Karo, I'm gonna go ahead and walk home. I'll see you for dinner."

"Is everything okay, Roza?"

"Yea, I'll talk to you about it later."

 _ **DPOV**_

"Ivan, let's go! You take longer than Rose to get ready."

"Don't you know it takes time to look this good?"

"No, I just roll out of bed and I already look good." I said laughing. We were headed out to one of the many campus hot spots tonight. We just won our preseason grudge match with a team from California. It was time to celebrate, we had practice next week, but no game. So we could relax a little. We leave Friday morning to go back to Arlington, back to my world.

"What has college done to you, you have never been egotistical. Is the winning going to your head? Are you feeling okay?", he put his hand on my forehead.

"Oh shut it, now you know how it feels to be around you!"

I was coming out of my shell, and I have to say, I like it. My whole life, I have been in one city, dated one person and had a handful of friends. Now, anywhere I go on campus people know me. They call me by name and constantly compliment me on my games. I have made a ton of new friends and acquaintances, I even have a fan club. Don't tell Roza about that though, she knows I have fans, but not an entire fan club. It may or may not be made up entirely of women, but I don't pay any mind to them like that. I have My Roza, that is all I need.

"Whatever, Where are we going tonight anyways?"

"The Court Bar. They have the Rangers game playing."

The Court Bar was a new sports place just outside of campus. They have 20 TV's lining the walls with every sports game you can imagine playing. In the front was a huge projector type screen, one game a night was picked for that. Tonight, it was the Rangers game, so I was stoked to go. They also, never carded Ivan and I. I am not one hundred percent sure if its because we simply look 21, or because everyone knows us as the Stars of Vanderbilt. No matter, I get to have a few beers and watch baseball, I was happy.

We had been here for about two hours, I was on beer number 4 and had 2 shots of what passes for Vodka in America. I was nowhere near intoxicated, but I was feeling pretty good. Ivan kept glancing around behind me.

"What are you looking at? You're kind of freaking me out, man."

"There is a girl over there," he shifted his eyes to look behind me to the right, "She has been eyeing you all night. I'm wondering how long it will take for her to come over." I didn't even look, what do I care, "Oh, here she comes, man that was quicker than I thought."

Short brown hair, about five foot eight, maybe. Tanned skin that looked sprayed on, slim build, but lanky, she had no definition to her body. Her curves were practically non-existent. She was cute, but not beautiful, not like Rose.

"Hey, you're Dimitri Belikov right, the pitcher at Vanderbilt?"

"The one and only, and you are?" I stood, reaching for her hand, bringing it to my lips, kissing her knuckles. I was really only doing this to freak Ivan out. He always made fun of me for not showing any emotion toward females. Why did I need to?

"Camilla Conta, I am a physics major. I watched all of your home games last year. I think you are amazing, and extremely sexy."

Wow, this girl is straight forward. Maybe I shouldn't have kissed her hand.

"Thank You, Camilla. I am always happy to meet a fan. Can I get you a drink?"

Wait, why did I just offer to buy her a drink? What is happening right now? I looked to Ivan, his eyes were the size of golf balls. I silently pleaded for help, he smirked, saying "nope, you got into this, you can get out."

"Oh that would be lovely, but sadly I am only 19." She showed me the "X" marked on her hand, signaling that she was underage.

"Oh what a shame, maybe another time." Ha, home free, or not.

She had her hand on my upper arm now and was leaning into my ear, "Well, I could give _you_ something instead."

That was a cold bucket of water, no, nope, I have to move, NOW. I stumbled away from her, almost knocking Ivan over in the process. He was laughing, not even trying to hide his amusement. I looked at the girl in front of me.

"That's okay, I doubt my wife would be okay with _that_." Okay, so Roza wasn't really my wife, yet, but I needed an out.

"You're married? Your like 20, and why did you kiss my hand and offer to buy me a drink." She looked pissed.

"I am sorry, I was just being a gentleman, the way my Mama raised me. I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression."

"Whatever!", She stormed away and I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

Ivan was now practically on the floor, doubled over laughing so hard his face turned red. "Dude, That, that was funny, you're face… ha… I .. I just can't right now.", he was still laughing and I was getting annoyed.

"Let's go home. I've had enough excitement for one night."

"Are you sure, I think there is about 10 more girls over there that would love a shot at the "Russian God"."

Ugh, not only did Rose refer to me as that from time to time, which I didn't mind. Now these girls here were starting to spread that around, I _did not_ like that. My woman could call me anything she wanted, but these girls, no, I wasn't happy at all.

"Where is the closest jewelry store?"

"At the mall I think, Why? What do you have in mind? Going to buy them all a little something?"

"Ivan, I could beat you right now. No, I am going to go buy a cheap wedding band, maybe it will keep these girls away."

"Or drive them closer." I shot him a dangerous look,"Hey, you're right, it's worth a shot." Putting his hands up in surrender.

We left the bar and headed to the mall, they were about an hour from closing so we had to be quick. I found a plain gold band that was reasonable priced. The sales clerk said they can engrave it for a small fee, so I handed her a paper with what I wanted it to say and paid. With my receipt and a ticket to pick the ring up tomorrow, we headed back to campus.

 _ **RPOV**_

"Mama?" I called out as I walked into the house. I have been calling Olena mama since I was around twelve. She has always been more of a mother to me than my own. Plus, in a few years she would be my mother in law. At least, I hope she will be.

"In here, Roza. How was your day?" She was making dinner in the kitchen. I sat down at the counter, throwing my bag on the floor.

"Good. Bad. Both."

"Okay, care to elaborate on the good and bad." She sat down and handed me a cup of tea.

"Good, I passed my english and history test. Bad, I was at the restaurant, these two guys from school came in. One of them is Ivan's cousin, but he is an awful person. He tried to tell me that Ivan and Dimitri were both out with different girls every weekend. He even had a picture of Dimitri kissing some girls hand and Ivan smiling at him."

"You know pictures are the easiest things to take out of context, Roza. It may not be what it seems."

"I know, that's what I told Jesse. It's just," I had to take a deep breath, the tears were stinging my eyes and I didn't want them to fall. I hated crying in front of people, especially Olena. "What if he did find someone else, what if he is happy being there, away from me, what if I am not good enough anymore."

"What if, what if, what if. What if he is missing you terribly, what if he is counting the minutes and seconds until he comes home. What if he was being polite to a friend or fan of his. You're thinking the wrong what ifs, moya docha." (my daughter)

"I suppose you're right. Four more days."

"There you go, now, wash up and help me with dinner."

* * *

So how did you like it? I know it is short, but I have to set the base and time line for this part. Chapters will get longer as we go on. As always, leave your thoughts in the reviews, I love hearing from everyone.

Happy Weekend!

Katarina


	16. Part 2: Chapter 2: Moves Like Jagger

_**Part 2: Chapter 2: Moves Like Jagger**_

 _ **DPOV**_

One more day, just one more day, I will be headed home. I tried calling Rose twice this week, everytime she says she is busy with something and she would call me back. Only, she doesn't. I really hope she hasn't decided to give up. I couldn't see her doing that and not telling me, but maybe she was trying to soften the blow and not tell me while I'm here.

I sat in my room, looking at the photo book Rose gave me. Everything from childhood up til we came back from our summer trip that year was in it. There was pictures I didn't even know she had. Like the one at the State Semifinals, after the game when I jumped on the railing and kissed her. I'm guessing Lissa or Vika took it. The one of all three of us guys on the field and the girls leaning over the wall, before the Jefferson game. Her birthday, the first pictures with her new camera. My 16th Birthday, the first time she told me she loved me. All the way to back eight years old, where we sat in the same sandbox I first saw her in. Our whole life was displayed in this book. I cherished it, no matter what happens, I will always keep this and remember.

 _Knock, Knock_

"Who is it?" I yelled, not moving from my spot on the bed.

"Who do you think? Let me in, Belikov."

I got up and opened the door, Ivan had a packed bag in his hand. "Pack up and let's go. We have to get home. _NOW!"_

"What's going on? Is everyone okay? Vika, Rose?"

"Physically, yes, mentally, I don't know. My shit head cousin somehow got pictures of you and I at clubs with some girls. He sent them to Rose and Vika. That's why neither of them are talking to us right now. Eddie said he tried to call you but your phone was off, so he called me and told me what was going on. Well, after cussing me out first, then I explained everything. He said the girls are pissed, though, so we need to get home."

"Your cousin? As in Jesse?"

"Yupp, the one and only."

"Oh, he's a dead man. Wait, what pictures could he have gotten? The only night we even talked to a girl was at that bar on Saturday. We didn't do anything."

"I don't know, Eddie didn't have a copy of it, he has only seen it from Rose. She told him she didn't want to talk about it or talk to you till you got home. That's why we need to go now. Vika is feeling the same way and I don't want this to ruin our relationships."

"Ivan, we have class in the morning, were supposed to leave after. Let's slow down a bit, shall we?"

"No man, we need to get home! We have to fix this!"

"Ivan, look at me, they said they were going to hear us out when we got home, right? They aren't expecting us till tomorrow night anyways. So let's give them that little bit of time to figure out what they want to say. Then we take our time as well to figure out how to romance them and make them understand nothing happened. Going home right now, it is not going to help."

"Fine, but I want to be on the road as soon as class lets out."

"Deal."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

The plan was working perfectly. Eddie had the guys believing Vika and I were completely pissed off. We hadn't been answering their calls all week because we knew one of us would spill the beans. Ivan's birthday was Saturday and they would be getting in late friday night. Well, we hoped they were still coming friday. We knew Ivan would most likely be the one to want to rush home, but Dimitri being the level headed one, would insist they keep their plans.

Vika and I have been working on my house for the last two days to get it party ready. You only turn 21 once. I had a professional cleaning team come in and go over the whole house. We had decorations everywhere and the living room had been cleared to put in a temporary wooden dance floor. The backyard was lit up again like it was on my 16th, and their were yard games, too.

We called all of our normal friends, Chris, Liss, Mason, Mia, Eddie, Jill, Sydney and Adrian, as well as some of the other players from their senior team. Adrian had the alcohol all taken care of and Lissa, Vika and I were handling food. The guys were putting the final touches on the decorations and we would be ready by tonight.

I know I should have let Dimitri in on the plan, but I thought it would be easier for him not to spill if he knew nothing. No doubt Ivan will be talking his ear off the whole way home about how mad we are.

When Jesse sent Vika the picture, she asked me if I knew about it. I told her about the restaurant incident and that I don't think anything major was going on. Dimitri and Ivan weren't those type of guys. They wouldn't cheat, they would have the decency to at least break up with us first. Not that I saw that happening anyways. I put my faith and trust into believing that the picture was just him talking to a friend or fan and to make the right choices. He has never failed me before and after the Tasha thing, I have learned to not jump to conclusions and anger. I would hear his side of the story before making any choice, though, that didn't mean my mind hasn't been running this last week. I tried to push those thoughts away, focus on throwing this party for Ivan and our friends.

I called Dimitri at about nine pm, knowing they should be getting close to home. They left around nine this morning, according to Olena.

"Roza, I am so glad you called. How are you?"

"I'm okay, Dimitri, how far out are you?"

"We should be in Arlington in about half an hour. Are you okay?"

"Yea, um, can you and Ivan come straight to my house. Me and Vika are here and we want to talk to the both of you." I tried to sound as despondent as possible.

"Look Rose, I don't know what you have heard, but…" I cut him off. I guess it was working.

"I don't want to talk about this over a phone, Dimitri. Just please, both of you come here when you get to town."

"Of course, milaya, I love you."

"Yea, you too." I hung up. Everyone looked at me.

"Man, he is going to think you hate him." Mason said.

"Well that's what I was going for. I hope his isn't mad when they find out we were all lying to keep the party a secret."

"Oh they will be fine, now everyone's cars are down the block right. We can't tip them off as soon as they pull up." Vika piped up.

We checked the exterior one more time to make sure nothing looked out of place, then, we waited.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

She didn't say she loves me back, man, I must be in deep. I looked at Ivan who was shaking with nerves. I really hope the girls will hear us out. We wanted to go home tonight and then take them out tomorrow to talk, guess that plan is over.

"What did she say? Is Vika with her? Are they mad?"

"One question at a time. She said she wants us at her house as soon as we get to town. Yes, Vika is with her and I can't even explain how she sounded. It wasn't mad, it was like...hollow. Like she didn't feel anything."

That is what worried me the most, the sound of her voice, I have never heard it like that. The drive seemed to take forever, but almost exactly thirty minutes later, I pulled up in front of her house. I could see the lights in the living room were on and could make out two shadows sitting on the couch. With one last look at each other, Ivan and I got out of the truck.

Please, please, let them hear us out. I was starting to sweat, I was so nervous.

 _Knock, knock, knock_

We waited, I could still see them sitting in the living room. We're they really making us stand out here and sweat more. Finally, the door knob turned and Rose stood before me. My eyes roamed her body, I was desperate to drink her in, like a dying man in the desert who just found water. Her beautiful brown almost black hair hung down her back in soft waves. Her eyes, the bottomless brown depths, held my gaze with such fire. She wore a red fitted tank top, showing a decent amount of cleavage and super tight skinny jeans hugging the amazing curve of her ass. I didn't realize how starved I was for her, I reached forward to run my hands into her hair, I needed contact, I needed her lips on mine. She stepped back before I got half way there.

"Come inside boys, we need to talk."

* * *

 _ **IPOV**_

I was literally, shitting bricks. Vika and I have never had relationship problems, ever. Jesse and his big fat lying mouth may have cost me the best thing to ever happen to me. Rose had opened the door to the house, I couldn't see Vika from where I was standing.

"Come inside boys, we need to talk."

Oh shit, this is not good, a "we need to talk" talk. I looked at Dimitri one more time, hoping for some reassurance, but he looked at me the same way.

We crossed the threshold of the house and I hit the ground.

 _ **POP POP POP POP, "Surprise!"**_

I swear we were being shot at, the sound was deafening, my ears were ringing, I couldn't hear anything around me.

"WHAT?!" I yelled, it still sounded faint to me.

Vika came over to me, "We said surprise, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"Yea, my ears are ringing though." I was still half yelling, "Wait, surprise, for what?"

I looked up and saw the 'Happy 21st Birthday, Ivan' sign and felt like an idiot.

"Wait, so you were never mad, you were playing us?"

"It was the only way we could think of to keep you both completely off our trail. Rose helped me a lot, so sorry Dimka, we had to do it to both of you."

I didn't know whether to be happy or pissed off. I chose happy, I mean, Vika wasn't mad at me, I am home for spring break, and all my friends are here to celebrate my birthday. Yea, I was happy.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

The guys were all highly intoxicated, thankfully I took everyone's keys when they arrived earlier. The girls weren't far behind. Lissa and I had set up the karaoke machine and were starting to go through the songs. I chose, "Moves like Jagger" and had Lissa and Vika singing with me. Everyone was dancing and the night was going rather well.

We were taking turns singing random songs, when Dimitri, drunk as all get out, decided, he wanted to serenade me. Now normally, I would find that highly romantic, but, right now he couldn't even hold the microphone up.

"No no no, come on now, Comrade, how about we get you to bed." I wrapped one arm around his waist and he leaned onto me. It was no easy task getting him up the stairs. He had a hundred pounds on me and his drunken state was making walking really difficult.

"So so pretty Roza, I missed you.", he was playing with my hair, slurring his words.

"I missed you too, Comrade. Come on, lay down so I can get your shoes and pants off."

"Oh no, naughty naughty, Rrrooozzaa, trying to undress me."

I laughed, "No Dimitri, I am just trying to get you comfortable for bed. Now can you lift your hips up just a little bit."

He did as I asked and I was able to get his boots, jeans and shirt off. I covered him in the sheets, kissed his head and left the room. He was asleep before the door closed, then I realized something.

Dimitri was wearing a wedding band.


	17. Part 2: Chapter 3: Crazy Girl

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Enjoy.**_

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 3: Crazy Girl**_

 _ **DPOV**_

I was very comfortable, the bed I laid on felt like a cloud, the smell of strawberries and jazmine danced around me. Roza. Reaching over I felt nothing, the bed was cold. I tried to open my eyes, but they were so heavy, what happened last night. I tried thinking back, Rose called, loud popping sound, party, alcohol, Oh god, I was trying to sing, Roza taking me to bed. Roza. Where was she? I could see light peaking through the curtains in her room, the sun seemed high, what time is it?

I rolled, getting out of the bed and I walked into Rose's bathroom. Looking at myself, I looked like hell. I did a lot of driving yesterday on hardly any sleep the night before. My eyes had crust in the corners, my hair needed a good wash and my skin looked a little pale. I really shouldn't have drank so much last night, but Adrian had some good vodka, I couldn't resist.

I splashed some water on my face and went to find my clothes. Getting dressed, I finally looked at the clock, 2 pm. Twelve hours, I slept for twelve hours. I must have been really tired, or highly intoxicated, maybe both. I made my way out of the room and down stairs.

"Good Morning, Comrade. Did you sleep well?"

Rose sat at the island by herself, coffee and a notebook in front of her. She closed the book before I could see what was written.

"Yea, I guess, what's that?" I leaned into her, kissing her hair. She tensed slightly, why?

"Just homework. Would you like some coffee?"

"Sure, Thank you, Roza.", I sat down at the island and watched her move about the kitchen.

She didn't sound herself. She sounded, how do I put it, distant, forced, like she didn't want to talk but was trying not to make it awkward. Something was up and I had no idea what.

"What's wrong, Rose? You don't sound like yourself? Is everything okay?"

She set the coffee in front of me, I reached out with my left hand to grab it and heard the tiny "clink". The ring, I had meant to take it off yesterday, but was sidetracked after she called. I didn't know how to explain it quite yet. Hearing the same thing, she shifted her eyes to my hand, then back to me. She tried to raise an eyebrow, but failed, it was actually really cute.

"Roza, it's not what your thinking."

"I don't know what to think, Dimitri! My boyfriend of _FIVE_ years comes home with a wedding ring on his finger and I didn't put it there! Was Jesse right, have you replaced me already? I didn't jump to conclusions when he showed me the picture, I promised not to do that after the Tasha thing, but how do you explain _this!_ "

I let her yell, she needed to get it out. I know being apart for so long was killing her. It was only a matter of time before she began to doubt me, her insecurities coming out. My face didn't change, I think that may have made her a bit more upset. I mean, I had my worries and doubts at times, but I know she loves me as much as I love her. It was hard and trying on our relationship, but I always knew we would make it through.

"Are you done?" I asked, she nodded.

"I was at a place called "The Court Bar", this girl came up and was complimenting me. Ivan kept telling me that I needed to be more personable to people. So I kissed her hand, and offered to buy her a drink. I was trying to be a gentleman. She hit on me and I told her my Wife wouldn't be okay with that. I'm glad she didn't look for a ring at the time, cause I didn't have one."

"So you went out and bought a ring?"

"When Ivan pointed out the other 10 girls that were staring at me, I thought if I had a ring, it would show them I wasn't available and I wouldn't be bothered. It actually worked, I haven't had any women try to hit on me all week. Makes my life a lot easier, women are mean when you turn them down." I said the last part a little sheepish.

She laughed, full on belly hurting laugh. I almost forgot how beautiful it sounded.

"Oh, Comrade, what did they do to you?", she was still laughing.

"One dumped her frozen drink on my head, another kicked me in the shin, the worst was the one who dumped her ice down my back, it went all the way in my pants. Very cold."

Now she was rolling, literally rolling on the floor. "I am glad you find pleasure in my pain, Milaya."

"I am sorry, hang on,", she took several deep breaths, "Okay, now, I'm sorry for laughing, but that was pretty funny. So when and where did you get it?"

"I bought it that night we were at the bar. Ivan and I left and picked it out, I even had it engraved on the inside." I took the ring off and handed it to her.

"What does it say?"

"My love, My life, My Roza." I had it written in cyrillic. Rose looked up at me, her beautiful full smile on display.

"I should have been the one to put it on you."

I reached across the counter, now giving her my right hand, since she wore her promise ring on her right ring finger, I would too. She slid it into place, kissing it before letting go.

"I love you, Rose. I don't know how many other ways to say it, for you not to doubt that."

"I don't doubt that you love me, Dimitri. It, well, it's really hard to be away from you. I know there are a thousand women at your school who would love a chance with you. You could have anyone you want, I mean look at you, you're sexy as hell, romantic, caring, loving, simply amazing." Her voice started to trail off and she wasn't looking at me anymore.

"Rose, we are going to fight, we are going to have problems. No relationship is perfect, well maybe Ivan's is, but we will always get through it. You have to know I love you like crazy. I am not going anywhere. Like you said before, your stuck with me, like it or not."

I walked around the island, cupping her face in both my hand, making her look at me. I stared into her beautiful brown eyes, a tear leaked out of the corner of one and I wiped it with the pad of my thumb. She was so beautiful, I still can't believe she is mine. I placed my forehead to hers, our lips a breath apart. I slowly closed the gap and gave her the sweetest kiss I could manage. I didn't want to battle her, dominate her, I wanted her to know, to feel, how much I love her.

"I love you, only you. That will never change. Do you understand?"

"I know. I love you, too, Dimitri."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

Finding out that Dimitri used his "wife" to get women to leave him alone, actually made me laugh. I loved the idea of him calling me his wife, telling people, women, that he was taken and didn't need any of their "services". Then finding out my poor Comrade had drinks dumped on him and people kicking him, well I felt bad, for a second, then I couldn't help but laugh. Dimitri is always the sweet guy, he never wants to hurt someone's feelings. So I am sure he tried to let them down in the nicest way, but as he said, women are mean when they get turned down.

Knowing that he was walking around with a ring on his finger to deter womens advancements, made me extremely happy. The fact that he was so ready and willing to display his status to everyone, my heart swelled.

"Alright, enough of the lovey dovey stuff. Your Mama is waiting for you."

We walked over to his house, Mama was in the kitchen getting things ready for Dimitri's dinner. She always cooked big for his first day back home. Paul was in the living room when we walked through the door, as soon as he saw Dimitri, he practically tackled him.

"Hey Pauly, have you been taking care of our girls?" he asked him.

"Of course Uncle Dimka. We have missed you."

"I missed you too, buddy."

"Dimka, get in here and give your mother a hug!"

He released Paul and made his way to the kitchen, I always loved watching Dimitri embrace his mother, he is such a momma's boy.

"Hey Paul, what are you playing?"

"Race cars, want to play with me?"

"Sure, can I have the blue one?"

Paul didn't look like he wanted to share that one, but he gave it to me anyways. We laid on the floor, I was on my stomach next to him, as we raced the cars on the little mat. I didn't miss Dimitri watching us from the kitchen with Mama. I know he was thinking the same thing I always am when I play with Paul, one day, we will be like this with our own family. I didn't want to have kids anytime soon, but the thought of having little Dimitri's running around the house was appealing. One day, one day we would have a house, family, everything we could dream of. We just have to get through this first. Once I was out of high school and Dimitri graduated college, everything would be perfect.

I hadn't talked to him about it yet, but I didn't want to go to college. I did twelve years of school, I don't want to do any more. I wanted to move to Nashville and try my hand at singing. Dad had told me at the start of the year that he had a trust fund set aside for me. When I graduated, I could do whatever I wanted with the money that was there, only one condition. I had to go to college or find a job. He didn't want me to solely live off his money, not that I had planned to anyways. I am going to move to Nashville to be closer to the music, as well as Dimitri. Get a little apartment and see what I could do to try and get a record deal.

I have been writing songs for the last year and a half and recording demos in my room for the last 3 months. I have about 10 songs recorded right now, I want to have about 15 to send to a record label when I graduate. I started looking into some jobs in the area and there isn't a whole lot I could get with just a high school diploma. I will have to look around when I get there, shouldn't be too hard to find something. Nashville is a pretty big city, lots of opportunity.

Dimitri came over and sat on the other side of Paul, we all laid there for a while. Vika and Ivan showed up about an hour later, they had spent the morning at Ivan's house with his family.

"Is that Black Bread I smell?" Ivan asked as he came through the door.

" _MY_ Black Bread!" Dimitri said defensively.

"I made one for each of you, plus two more for everyone else." Mama said as she came out of the kitchen, "Welcome home, Ivan and Happy Birthday."

"Thank You, Mama."

Everyone called Olena "mama", she preferred it that way. She saw all of us as her children, I mean in reality, we were. With me dating Dimitri and Ivan dating Vika, we were all family.

The four of us took to the couches and the boys told us stories from school. Vika and I soaked it all up, we loved hearing about their college life. Everything from classes, to their friends, frat parties and bar nights, but mostly, baseball.

Their coach was apparently ten times tougher than Tanner ever was. He didn't let the guys slack for anything, he demanded perfection. Which in a way, is very good. I just worry that they will push themselves too hard, I didn't want them getting hurt. Dimitri was at the risk the most. Being a pitcher is a huge strain on the arm and shoulder muscles, if he wasn't careful, or didn't warm up/cool down properly, he could tear something and be out for a season, or life, if it is bad enough. I knew he had been working hard to be the best, but I didn't realize just how hard.

"You are being careful right, not overworking your arm to much?"

"Yes, Roza, coach only lets us pitch so many in a day, a max of 400 per week when we have games, 550 if it is a by week."

"I just don't want you getting hurt, Comrade. Your heating before practice and icing after?"

"Yes, mother."

"Good."

He shook his head at me and kissed my hair. I laid back into his chest, resting between his legs on the couch. I missed this contact, simple, no worries, no complications, just us. Mama called us to the table for dinner about an hour later. We laughed and talked for two hours, just like we used to. As the night wound down, Dimitri wanted to stay home with his sisters and mother, so I made my way back home. I had started writing a new song this morning, so I went to finish that and edit some recordings.

I felt better than I had in a while. Having him home, with me, it was like I could finally breathe again. I never realized how much of my soul he possessed. When he was gone, it was like I wasn't whole, there was a constant void in my life. I couldn't wait for the day where we don't have to be apart anymore. Where I could go to sleep next to him every night and wake up to see his handsome face every morning.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Rose headed home for the night, I stayed at my house. It was nice to sit back and relax with my family. Paul had been sent to bed, Karo was putting Zoya down and I was holding Katya on the couch. The last two years have been trying to say the least. Roza and I haven't had a lot of fights or problems, for the most part, we are handling the distance rather well. Sure, we both have times of insecurities and doubts, but in the end, we will be fine. As I told her earlier, I do love her like crazy and I am not going anywhere.

"You're a natural at that, you know." Sonja said as she came down the stairs.

I looked at a sleeping Kayta on my chest. She was always a good baby and hasn't been too bad of a toddler from what I have heard, but she did hate going to bed.

"It's nothing really, she just hasn't seen me in a while, it's probably just a comfort thing."

"No, your just good with them, it was like that with Paul and Zoya too, remember."

"Yea, I guess."

"What's wrong, Dimka?"

"Nothing really, just thinking about me and Rose. We've been doing okay with the long distance and I know everything will work out in the end, but how long will it be before we can settle down. If I go into the Majors, I will be traveling all the time. She is going to college next year, and I only have two years left. What if she chooses to go somewhere further away? There's just so many questions in my mind and I don't know how to process all of them."

I don't know why I suddenly confided in my older sister, she has never cared for Rose. She always thought I could do better, but I didn't want that.

"You guys will figure it out, your young, don't try to rush anything." She said lovingly as she looked at me holding Katya. "You will have it all one day, Dimitri. Let it be."

"Since when do you care for Rose and I?"

"I never truly hated Rose, I just thought you could do better. Someone your age or older, not younger. She still has a lot to learn, but I guess you do, too. I care about you and your happiness, Dimka. If that is married to Rose and having a family with her, I will support you. Both of you."

"Thank you, Sonja. That really means a lot to me."

"Well, like I said, don't rush. Finish college, let her do what she needs to, then worry about settling down and having a family. You have plenty of time."

I nodded, I didn't know what else to say. She took Katya from me and went upstairs to bed. I laid on the couch for a while longer. After sleeping all day, I wasn't all that tired, not enough to go back to sleep yet. I flipped through the TV channels mindlessly. My mind finally starting to settle down from all the random worries I had. Babushka came out from her room around hour later.

"My grandson, there is something I must tell you. There is trouble ahead, don't stray from your path, no matter what. Hardships and trials make the strongest warriors."

"What do you mean, Babushka? What is going to happen?"

"I have not seen the end, Dimka. Only that it will be hard, don't stop fighting to see the light."

Just like that, my mind was racing again.


	18. Part 2: Chapter 4: One Call Away

_**Trigger Warning: this chapter contains mention of assault.**_

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 4: One Call Away**_

 _ **RPOV**_

It was Monday morning after Easter break, Dimitri went back to Tennessee the weekend before last and things were back to normal with us. Only a month and a half and I would be with him, I had to keep looking toward the positive light.

"Rose, are you coming to the party this weekend?" Lissa asked as she caught up to me.

"Where is it at again? Who all will be there?"

"Adrian's house, and everyone. All of our group and most of the Senior and Junior classes. Adrian said it's going to be the biggest party he has ever thrown." she laughed, "That's saying something. You have to come."

"I swear he got held back a year just to keep throwing parties."

Adrian was supposed to graduate last year, but something about not having enough credits held him back. Not that any of us really complained. He said he wasn't ready to go to college and say goodbye to this life. Plus, it allowed all of us to be together for our last year. Lissa, Vika, Eddie, Mason, Sydney, Adrian and I are all graduating this year. Jill and Mia still have one year left, but Eddie and Mason are going to UT Arlington, so they will still be here for them. Good thing, I don't know how they would handle long distance.

"Probably, but I am not complaining, his parties are always amazing." Lissa said.

"I don't have anything to wear, so we will need to go shopping before Saturday."

Lissa looked happier than a pig in mud, jumping up and down clapping her hands rapidly. Nothing can make her happier than shopping, well maybe Christian. We continued to class, chatting about what we would buy this weekend. Vika fell into step with us as we reached our math class.

"So Roza, your going Saturday, right?"

"Yea, me and Liss are going to go shopping Friday after school, want to come?"

"Of course, but I can't get anything new, Mama said the bills are tight this month because Paul got sick."

"Why hasn't she said anything to me or Dimitri? She knows we could both help her?"

"You know Mama, she's stubborn, just like the rest of us."

"Well, we can blame Yeva for that. You all get it from her."

We all laughed, but I was thinking of how to slip some money into Olena's account. It wouldn't be the first time I have done it. She never ask where it came from or questioned me specifically. It also doesn't help that Karo's hours got cut at the restaurant and Sonja is the only one working full time now. Mama still gets a check every month from the sperm donor, Randall, but it's nothing for a family of eight.

The rest of the week went by as normal. It was now Friday night and the girls and I were going to the mall for dresses. I picked up Liss and Vika, Jill, Sydney and Mia were meeting us there. I made sure to change before leaving the house, knowing Liss would have me in and out of a hundred dresses before we picked one. I had on my comfy loose sweats ,a embroidered tank top and my walking shoes.

Ten stores later, Vika had found a dress she really liked, but refused to buy, so I went back and bought it for her. It was a deep purple, knee length with a pleated tulle halter look neckline. It matched her skin beautifully, if Ivan saw her right now, he would fall to his knees. She had a pair of silver strap 4 inch heels at home to go with it. Lissa had chosen a beautiful Chiffon spaghetti strap dress with a V-neckline that hung right to her knees, in a sea-foam green. As for me, nothing, I was really losing all hope. Maybe I just didn't find anything appealing, or maybe I didn't care about what I looked like because Dimitri wouldn't be there. Either way, I was having absolutely no luck today.

I was ready to give up, as we walked out toward the foot court, I saw the perfect dress hanging in a display. It was a blood red, chiffon knee-length vintage style, with a halter neckline that had straps to tie at the neck. I had to try it on, it was absolutely, the perfect dress. I grabbed Lissa arm, as she was closest and drug her through the store. Quickly finding my size, I ran to the dressing room. As soon as I put it on, I knew, this was my dress. It hugged my curves just right, showing just enough cleavage to be sexy, but not overly so. I snapped a picture in the mirror and texted it to Dimitri. He was playing a game tonight in Washington, so it would be a while before he saw it.

Buying the dress, we headed back to the food court to grab some dinner before heading home. Now that the dress crisis had been solved, I was going to work on getting money to Olena.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

We were in Washington tonight, this was supposed to be an easy win. We lost. Six to two. How did this happen, they were one of the worst ranked teams in the division. Yet, they beat us. I was beyond frustrated with my teammates, and myself. Coach Dashkov yelled at us for half an hour before telling us to shower and get on the bus.

"Ivan, what the hell happened out there tonight?"

"I don't know D, we should have crushed them. We had way to many strikeouts and missed plays. It's like everyone's depth perception was off, they were swinging too early and way off on their throws. If we play like that next week against UT, Christian is going to laugh his ass off at us."

Christian has been excelling on the field at UT Austin. His batting average was the highest on the team and he had been making show stopping plays all year. I watched his last game on TV and there was a hit right on the foul line, he dove from 6 feet away and caught it. Winning their game. I was starting to wish I had chosen to go with him. We have been playing like crap for the last three weeks. I wasn't sure if my teammates just didn't care, or something was going on that was making them unable to play like they should. Either way, it needed to stop, I didn't come here to lose.

We headed to the bus, Ivan and I always sat with each other in the very back. He was texting, I assumed Viktoria, he had a huge grin on his face. I asked what had him all giddy, and lets say, I was not happy to see my sister in that dress. I wanted to throw my duster over her and make her go home.

"All the girls went shopping for Adrian's party this weekend, I don't really want her going in that dress though, too many guys will be looking at her."

"I agree, I hope Rose's is better than that." I checked my phone, nope, not better than Vika. She looked breathtaking, even without her hair and makeup done.

"Damn, she looks hot!"

I shot Ivan a "I am going to kill you" look, "Really man?"

"Hey, I am simply complimenting your girlfriend, or wait, should say Wife."

"I hope this is just one she tried on and not what she is wearing."

I dialed Rose, knowing she would still be awake since it was Friday. It rang about three times before she answered, "Comrade! What are you doing, I miss you."

"I miss you too, Roza. We just got on the bus, we lost our game."

"I'm sorry, baby. Did my picture cheer you up?"

"That it did, but please tell me that's not the dress you are wearing to the party."

"Of course it is, didn't you see how good it looked? It would be a crime to let that go to waste."

"Oh, I definitely saw how good it looked on you. That's why I don't want you to wear it, you will have every male in the room looking at you."

"Let em look, Comrade. It's all they will ever get. Hey, I have to go, Vika and I are working on something, but I love you and I will call you tomorrow, okay?"

"YA lyublyu tebya, Roza. Vechno i navsegda." I wasn't embarrassed to tell her I love her in front of other people, but these guys didn't need to hear it.

"Forever and always, Comrade. Have a good night, get some rest."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

"Baba?"

"Yes, Kiz?"

He knew I wanted something, as soon as I said "Baba" his eyebrow raised and he gave me, what I call, the look. The look that says "what do you want and how much is it going to cost me."

"Olena is struggling really badly right now, Paul has been sick and Karo had her hours cut. Is there anyway we can help her?"

"What exactly are you wanting to do?"

"I was thinking of buying her groceries for the house, putting a credit on the water and power bill so she wouldn't know I did it. She gets enough from Randall to cover bare essentials, but with so many people, food is the hardest for her."

"Well, we can order groceries online and they will deliver them to the house. As for power, you would have to have her information for that. Water, I can call the water department and have them put a credit there to cover a few months."

"Viktoria is getting her account information for me. I should have that in an hour or so."

"I'll take care of everything, you don't worry, okay?"

"Thank you, Baba."

"You're welcome, Kiz. They are family too."

I loved hearing my father refer to Dimitri's family as ours. I know my parents have always had a hard time accepting mine and Dimitri's relationship. The constant, "you're too young" or "he is older, you should date someone your own age", but now it seems they have come around. Mom still isn't very active in my life, even though her and dad haven't been traveling a lot this year. Dad wanted to be around for my senior year, I didn't mind it, it was nice to be a normal family for once. Well, as close to normal as we could get.

With the money for Olena now handled, it was time to get ready for the party. All the girls were meeting at my house, then we would drive over together in Dad's Suburban SUV.

"Liss, how is Christian doing? I saw a game of his on TV last week, he was playing really well." I said.

"He is good, his coach told him, for a sophomore, he was doing really well. If he keeps playing the way he is, he could sign a deal in a year or two."

"That's great news! Ivan hasn't had any luck with recruiters yet. Dimitri has talked to a few, but none of them seem interested in Ivan." Vika says.

"Catchers have to have really good batting averages and be a brick wall behind the plate. He still has time to get his averages up. That's really his only weak spot right now."

"Is it hard?" Jill asked shyly, out of nowhere. She has always been the quiet one, we really need to get her to open up before we graduate.

"Is what hard, Jilly?"

"Them being away? Like, how do you deal with them off at college and not freak out all the time."

Vika, Lissa and I laughed a little at this. Vika spoke first.

"I freaked out every day for the first six months. If he didn't answer his phone on the first ring, I was texting him and leaving voicemails threatening his manhood."

"Same here, Dimitri at one point asked if I wanted to attach a tracking device to him. I actually considered it for a minute."

"Me too, and I have the least distance in the group. Though, I didn't threaten his manhood or put a tracking device on him. I did however, drive to Austin and stalk his baseball practice once."

"WHAT? Are you serious? And you didn't take me with you?" I yelled.

"You would have blown my cover and you know it!"

"Whatever, next time I am going!"

We all laughed. Jill seemed to relax a little, "Look Jill, it is hard, we can't say that it isn't, but time flies and before you know it, you will both be out of college. Plus, Eddie is going to UT Arlington, so he will still be living here."

"You're right, it will just be weird not seeing him at school. All of you, really. Next year is going to suck."

"Hey, I will still be there!" Mia spoke for the first time.

"I know, It's just we went from a group of 12 to 9 and next year it will be 2. It's just sad."

"It is all part of life, we all have to grow up sometime. But no matter what, we will always be around." I told Jill. She was like a little sister to all of us, and Sydney's actual sister. I would miss her when I move to Nashville, but we will always come back to visit.

We were all ready, so we piled into the SUV and headed out. Dad being Dad, said he would have Uncle Pavel come and check on us after a few hours, and drive us home, should I not be able to. I didn't plan on drinking a lot, if at all, but it was nice that my Dad wanted me to be a teenager and not a grown adult, like my mother does.

The party was live as always. Adrian really did throw the best parties in the city. About four hours in, Jesse and his shadows showed up, Ralf and Aaron attached to his hip. I couldn't be bothered with that tonight, I just wanted to let loose and have a good time. I only had 2 drinks so far, I wanted to keep it that way.

In trying to avoid Jesse at all cost, I actually wound up trapped with him in the kitchen for a while.

"Here Rose, you look like you could use a good drink."

"Only because I need to make myself forget your face." I mumbled, "What do you want, Jesse? Don't you have any friends that don't follow you around like a lost puppy? Can't you go annoy someone else?"

"You know I only get enjoyment out of annoying you, Rose. Seriously though, truce, I am sorry for what I said about Dimitri. We're all going to be graduating soon, can we let bygones be bygones?"

He actually looked genuine, so I took the drink. I looked in the cup to see what it was, Adrian's punch concoction, so it was safe, at least I thought it was. Because about 20 minutes later, I started to feel light headed. I walked up to the spare rooms, just so happens to be the one Dimitri went to that night after the Jefferson game. I reached my phone and dialed the one number I had memorized.

"Roza, it's almost 3 in the morning there, are you okay?"

"Comrade, don't feel…..good….dizz...bad...fall…" I blacked out.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

We were staying at a hotel in Spokane, our flight home was cancelled this morning, so we had to stay an extra night. I had to share a room with Ivan. Not that I really minded, but tonight I just felt off. I didn't want to be around people, even him. Rose had said she would call me today and so far she hasn't. It would be around one in the morning there, so she should be at the party. I figured she got caught up getting ready with the girls and forgot. I let it go.

The problems with the team were still spinning in my head, trying to figure out how we went from being unbeatable, to losing against the worst team. I couldn't seem to understand the sudden change. It has to have something to do with Dashkov, he replaced Coach Alto at the beginning of this season, when Alto took a job as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Braves. The problems only started after Dashkov took over.

We didn't just lose all our talent over night, this wasn't Space Jam. Or maybe it was like Space Jam, maybe it was something in the water. You know, like when they were losing and thought drinking "Michael's Secret Stuff" would give them all amazing talent. Instead, it was causing us to suck, messing up our heads to where we couldn't play right. But I didn't feel any different, then again, I don't drink the Gatorade Coach makes every game. Maybe I am on to something there, I will have to talk to Ivan about it in the morning.

I finally fell asleep around midnight, I had only been asleep for about and hour when my phone started ringing. Why was Rose calling me now, its 3 am in Texas.

"Roza, it's almost 3 in the morning there, are you okay?"

"Comrade, don't feel…..good….dizz...bad...fall…", she stopped talking.

"Roza! …...Roza! ….Rosemarie! What is going on?" No answer, not even to me calling her Rosemarie, she hates that.

"Dimitri, What's wrong?" Ivan was now awake, thanks to my yelling.

"Rose, she called, she was saying she doesn't feel good, something about dizziness and falling, maybe..her words are all jumbled and slurred. Can you call Vika's phone and see if she answers?"

 _ ******TRIGGER WARNING******_

I didn't want to hang up the phone with Rose, I wanted to be able to hear if anything was going on in the background. I put the phone on speaker, I am glad I did. I heard a males voice, a very familiar males voice. By the look on Ivan's face, he recognized it as well. I muted my phone so he wouldn't hear us, but we could still hear him.

" _You think she is out?" male one asked._

" _Yea, I think so, her breathing is even. Good, I thought I may have gone a little overboard at first." male two said._

"Ivan, is anyone answering their phone?" I was starting to panic.

"No, I called Vika, Lissa and Eddie. I am trying Adrian now."

"No, call Abe. He will answer and I am sure he probably has Pavel at the ready to pick them up."

One good thing about Abe, he loved his daughter, so much so that his personal bodyguard was her shadow when she went out. Pavel was always there, even when Rose didn't realize it. She was never alone.

" _Get her on the bed, time for a little fun."_ It was the first male again. Oh, when I get my hands on him he is dead. _"I wanted her out of that dress the second I saw her tonight, looks like I will get my wish. Make sure the door is locked, I don't want to be interrupted."_

"Dimitri, Abe is on the phone, what do I tell him?"

"Tell him Rose is in trouble, she is passed out at Adrian's and there are at least two guys in a room with her. Pavel needs to find her, _NOW!_ "

Ivan relayed the message while I stayed listening to Rose's phone, I could hear whimpering now. _Roza, My Roza, please baby wake up and fight, please!_

" _Don't worry baby, we are just going to have…."_

He didn't get to finish his sentence, the door was kicked in. I could hear the crash of it hitting the wall, the lock breaking as it was forced open. Then he screamed like a little girl. I hope Pavel beats the living shit out of him, but he better still be breathing when I get there, even if he won't be once I am done. After about 5 minutes of hearing grunts and yelling, it was dead silent. I took the phone off mute and started yelling, trying to get Pavel's attention.

"Dimitri, is that you?"

"Yea, is she okay?"

"She will be, he didn't get far. I am going to get her to the hospital. You did good, son."

"Not good enough, I'm not there."


	19. Part 2: Chapter 5: Hall of Fame

**Part 2: Chapter 5: Hall of fame**

 **RPOV**

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

"Ugh. Turn it off!" I don't remember setting an alarm for anything. Come to think of it, I don't really remember anything. I was at Adrian's, Jesse was annoying me, I went upstairs….then what. I tried to open my eyes, but the lights were extremely bright. Where the hell am I?

"Rose? Rose? Can you hear me?"

"Lis...sa?" I tried to say, my throat was so dry, it hurt to talk. "Wa...water…"

I heard shuffling, then felt a straw touch my lips, I drank greedily. "Slow down, Rose, not too much."

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the new light. Lissa was sitting in the chair by the bed, crying. She had bags under her eyes, they were red and puffy. Taking in my surroundings, I was in a hospital. Now, I am really confused, how and why am I here?

"What happened?"

"Let me get the Doctor. She can explain everything. I am so sorry, Rose. So sorry."

What was she sorry for? What the hell is going on?

"Hello Rose, My name is Dr. Oldenzki. Do you remember anything from last night?" I shook my head, "Do you want anyone here with you while we talk, your mom or dad?"

"Who all is here?"

"Both your parents, Vasilissa Dragomir, Viktoria and Olena Belikova." she read the names off a list.

"Olena, please, can she come in?"

"You don't want your Mom or Dad?"

"No, just Olena, Please."

"Okay, I will be right back."

Not two minutes later the doctor walked back in, Olena right behind her. I took one look at her face and I wanted to cry. She looked awful, like she had been awake for days and crying the whole time. Tears sprang to my eyes just seeing her.

"Mama, What happened?"

She looked to the doctor, who nodded for her to tell me.

"Roza, do you remember being at Adrian's party?" I nodded, "Do you remember talking to Jesse Zeklos?" I nodded again. "Jesse and his friends,", she paused to take a deep breath, "they drugged you. They put something in the drink they gave you. You went upstairs, do you remember that?" again I nodded, but now I was crying, full fledge tears. "Oh docha' , it's okay now, you are safe, it's okay." She wrapped her arms around me, her embrace so similars to the comfort I feel with Dimitri. Dimitri.

"I called Dimitri, I remember that, but nothing after that."

"He answered and you told him you weren't feeling well. Then you blacked out. He stayed on the phone and heard voices, so he had Ivan call Abe. Abe had Pavel find you before anything could happen."

"What was going to happen?" I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear her say it, I needed her to confirm my thoughts, my fear.

She hesitated, I know this couldn't be easy for her either, "They attempted to assault you, but they didn't, Dimitri and Ivan were able to get someone there in time."

I took it all in, at first, I was beyond grateful that nothing happened, don't get me wrong, I still am. Then I thought, Dimitri was able to get someone there, but he should have been there. If he was here this wouldn't have happened. I tried to push that thought from my mind though, I know it's not his fault, and even from Washington he was there for me. No doubt he is going to beat himself up over this, no need for me to add onto it.

How did I let this happen? I should have been more careful. I should have never taken that drink. No, Jesse is to blame, he is the one who did this. It's not entirely my fault, I can't blame myself for all of it. Yes, I made some poor decisions, but he is the one in the wrong.

"I want to go home. When can I leave?"

"We just need to make sure your system is clear of the drugs and you will be released." Dr. Oldenski advised.

"Mama, can you get my parents for me please?"

Olena nodded, tears still falling from her eyes and walked out to the waiting room.

"Hey, Kizim, how are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess, I am just ready to go home and this to be over. What's going to happen now?"

"Well, now you have to file a police report, which we will do when you are ready. Then, we move on with life." I nodded. That's all I wanted, to move on.

I looked over at my mother, she was standing in the corner, not looking at me.

"Mom, are you okay? You haven't said anything."

"I just don't understand you, Rosemarie. Willingly putting yourself in these situations, why?"

I didn't know what to say, I know I messed up taking a drink from someone, someone I have never trusted, but I didn't ask for this. I just wanted to have a good night with friends. Jesse is the one to blame, he ruined everything, not me.

"Look, I know I messed up, but I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for any of this."

"You always mess up, Rosemarie. How many times does something bad have to happen for you to learn? Between failing classes, starting fights at school, constantly in the office for one thing or another. Now this, I don't know what to do with you."

Okay, maybe the last year hasn't been the best. Dimitri doesn't know about everything I have dealt with and I really would like to keep it that way for now. But my mother, absent mother at that, telling me how much a disappointment I am. I didn't need that on top of everything else.

"I want to go home."

"I will get you out of here and home soon, Kiz."

"No. I want to go home. With Olena."

* * *

 **DPOV**

As soon as the plane wheels hit the ground I was out of my seat making my way to where Coach was waiting by the bus.

"Coach Dashkov, I have a family emergency and I need to go home a for a week or so."

"You would lose your starting position if your not here for practice, Belikov."

"I understand, Sir, but my girlfriend was attacked last night and I need to get home to her."

"If you must, but you will be benched for two weeks." He started to walk away, jackass.

"I will be going with him." Ivan jumped in. Coach just nodded and continued walking.

"Ivan you don't have to come. There is no reason for both of us to be benched."

"Are you kidding? First, Rose is like my little sister. Second, it was my good for nothing cousin that did this, I will help in the punishment."

"Okay, pack for two weeks, we shouldn't be that long, but just in case."

We got onto the bus to take us back to campus, longest 20 minute ride of my life. As soon as the bus parked, Ivan and I were running toward our dorm. 10 minutes later, we were in the truck headed west.

* * *

"So, before Rose called last night, I was thinking about something. Neither you or I drink the gatorade that Coach makes for the games right?" He nodded, "We're the only ones who don't seem to be having any issues during the games. I think he is putting something in the drinks to mess us all up."

Ivan looked thoughtful, "I can see that, but the question is why? What does he have to gain by making us lose?"

"I don't think it's really about us losing, but I can't think of why else he would do it."

"What should we do, transfer, report him?"

"We can't really report him until we have some type of proof of what he is doing. Transfer, well I am thinking about that. Christian is doing really well at UT Austin, and he said the program is starting to take off with the new coach they hired. Vanderbilt was number one a year ago, but with Dashkov going off the rails now, it won't be that way much longer."

"Why don't you just call one of the recruiters back and sign on with someone?"

"Rose and I both agreed, I would get my degree before going pro. I would hate for something to happen to where I can't play and not have something to fall back on."

Ivan nodded, "I get it. I think we should look into the transfer though. What are we going to say is our reason?"

"I can pull the family card, my girlfriend is going through some things and needs me to be closer. Plus, they already offered us scholarships before, I am sure they would love for us to transfer. Our stats are still good, it's the rest of the team is declining."

"That may work. We need to call Christian when we get home, find out who we need to talk to about it."

"Agreed."

We chatted mindlessly for the rest of the trip, switching drivers about halfway through. Neither of us have had a decent nights sleep in two days. I dozed off quickly when he took over, dreaming of my beautiful Roza. Scared, and hurt, I needed to be home and stay home.

* * *

"Dimka, Dimka wake up." Ivan said, shaking my arm.

I rubbed my tired eyes and straightened up in my seat. We just pulled into the city, headed in the direction of my house.

"No, we need to go to the hospital. You passed the exit."

"Vika texted, they released Rose and she is at your house right now."

"Oh, Okay."

Why wasn't she at her house? I know her parents are home, shouldn't she be with them, well her dad. I didn't really have time to think about it, we pulled into my driveway 5 minutes later. Walking in the house, Mama was in the kitchen, Vika and Karo sat in the living room, Sonja must be at work.

"Where is she?"

"Sleeping, your room." Karo replied.

Ivan immediately went to Vika and held her like his life depended on it. I headed straight for my room. Opening the door, I just stared at her, she looked peaceful and beautiful. I didn't want to disturb her, so I headed back down stairs.

"Mama, Why is Roza here and not at home with her parents?"

"You will need to talk to her when she is ready. A lot has happened in the last 48 hours and she will be staying with us for the time being."

I sat down with mama at the counter, she handed me a cup of coffee and we talked for a little while. I told her about wanting to transfer, about my theory of something being wrong at Vanderbilt. My fear for Rose and her safety, everything. I forgot how easy it was to talk to her sometimes, being away I don't have anyone to really talk to but Ivan. Sometimes a man just needs his Mama.

"Comrade? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"You really think I was going to stay there?"

"No, I had a feeling you would be driving here as soon as the plane hit the ground."

I pulled her into my lap and held her like one would hold a small child. Her arms wrapped around my neck, resting her head in the crevice of my shoulder. I kissed her hair over and over again, tightening my arms around her.

"I am so sorry, Roza, I should have been here, this shouldn't have happened." I felt horrible, if I had been there, Jesse wouldn't have been near her. She grabbed both sides of my face, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

"Dimitri Alexander Belikov, you are not to blame, do you understand me? There was no way to know this would happen and even from Washington, you were there to protect me."

She was right in a sense, but I couldn't let it go.

"But I should have been there, Rose. If nothing else when you woke up, I should have been the one by your side."

"You're here now. That's what matters."

I gave her a chaste kiss, one full of love and sorrow, no matter how many times she tells me, I will always wish that things could have been different. That I could have been there for her, when she needed me most. I promised to always protect her, I failed this time, but I would not fail again.

We moved over to the living room and took up our normal spot on the love seat. My sisters asked Ivan and I about school and baseball, what we were up to lately, really anything to fill the silence.

Dinner was served and conversation died as we ate. The table was absolutely silent, you could hear a pin drop. It wasn't a awkward silence though, more of a peaceful, everything will be okay, silence. After we finished, I cleared the table and started on the dishes with Roza's help. The door bell rang about half way through, I glanced at Ivan and he got up to answer.

"Rose, there is an officer here. She needs to talk to you."

"Rosemarie Mazur? I am detective Sonya Tanner. May I have a moment of your time?"

* * *

 **RPOV**

"Rose, please. Can we go out back? It would have more privacy."

"Of course, that would be just fine."

I closed the door to the back patio and looked out into the nights sky. It was crystal clear night, but living in the city, you couldn't see the stars. Pity, I would love to have something to help me focus. I knew how this would go, and honestly I was glad to get it over with. I hope Jesse would be charged, but I don't really care at this point. My mother thinks I am a disappointment and my friends are treating me like I will break just by a look. Hopefully after this, I can get back to normal.

"So Rose, You know why I am here. I have several questions I have to ask you about the incident that occured Saturday night. This conversation will be recorded, are you ready?"

"Yes, Ma'am"

"Good. First off can you state your full name and age for the recording, please."

"Rosemarie Mazur, 18 years old."

"Ms. Mazur, on April 14th, you attend a party at the home of Adrian Ivashkov, correct."

"Yes."

"At this party, you were apparently drugged at a point, correct?"

"Yes."

"Can you explain to me in your own words what happened, please be as detailed as possible."

I explained everything, start to finish. From the moment I walked into Adrian's house, till I woke up at the hospital. I told her about calling Dimitri and him staying on the phone, while Ivan called my dad to get me help.

"Would you mind if I spoke to Dimitri? You can be present of course, this is your case."

"Absolutely, I will get him." I opened the back door and he was sitting in the living room, watching the door, go figure. "Comrade, can you come out here, please."

Detective Tanner asked him to explain what he had heard on the phone. He looked at me before speaking. When he was done, I wanted to hurl. I knew what Jesse tried to do, I knew how close I came to being a victim, but hearing him say what he was going to do. I was sick.

"Thank you both for your time. The case is pretty clean cut, but we had to have your testimony on file. Mr. Pavel also made his statement about what he found in the room, and positively ID'd the suspects. If you have any questions or concern on your case, please feel free to call me." She handed me a business card and walked out the front door.

"I am going to head to bed, will you be joining me later?" I asked Dimitri.

"I will be where ever you need me, milaya."

I simply nodded, knowing he would come to bed with me soon. I laid back on the headboard and let my mind wonder. I had no memory of anything after I walked up to the room. In the end, I guess that is a good thing. I would never take a drink from someone else again though, not even Dimitri. I didn't feel anything right now, is that normal. Shouldn't I feel violated, scared, confused even. Maybe something is wrong with me, maybe the past me is coming back. No, I couldn't let her. I am fine, I will be fine, but first I will have to tell him about everything that happened when he left, then I would get back to normal, no, better than normal. I was going to prove my mother wrong, I am not a failure. I am not going to let this mistake, this one act, define me. I would continue to work harder on my grades, I would put more effort into my family and friends.

I would make a change, the world will not know what hit them.


	20. Part 2: Chapter 6: I Won't Give Up

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**_

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 6: I Won't Give Up**_

 _ **DPOV**_

I woke up the next morning feeling better than I have in a long while. Reaching over to hold Roza, I found she was no longer in the bed. When I came in last night, she molded right to my body as soon as I crawled in. There was a note left on her pillow, " _Comrade, when you wake up and are ready, meet me at our spot. We have a lot to talk about. I love you! -Roza"_

I quickly got up and took a shower, twenty minutes later I was in my truck headed to the lake. We had our first official date there, a picnic. Ever since, we always found ourselves in that spot anytime we needed to get away. It would always hold a special place in our lives.

I pulled into the park area and found her quickly. She sat on a quilt my mother had made her, she was gorgeous. I sat in the truck for a minute before approaching her. Propped up on her elbows, her hair was down, flowing freely in the soft breeze. A black tank top left her shoulders bare to grasp as much sun as they could, cut off jean shorts and flip flops on her feet.

"Hey Beautiful, hungry?" I stopped on my way and grabbed a dozen chocolate donuts.

"Oh how I love you, Comrade."

I laughed, the way to my woman's heart, straight through her stomach. I rested down on the quilt next to her, laying on my side, with my head propped on my hand. I waited for her to start talking, I wanted to go at her pace. She finished two donuts before finally looking at me. She had tears welling up in her eyes, trying so hard to fight them back.

"Comrade, we have to talk, about a lot of things. First, I have to tell ask you something."

I wiped the tear that managed to escape away, "Ask away, Roza."

"No matter what, can you promise you will not be mad?"

What could she ever say or do to make me mad? "I promise."

"Okay," she took a few deep breaths, "When you left, I...I started to get into a lot of trouble. It seems without you around, the Hathaway side of me exploded. I was getting into fights at school, I failed all of my classes for the first half of Junior year. I was at every party, every weekend. I smoked marijuana with Mason and Eddie, I pushed them into doing it with me, so don't be hard on them, better yet, don't let them know you know." she took another deep breath, "I pulled countless pranks on all the teachers, Kirova the worst. I learned how to hotwire a car and took Petrov's for a joy ride. Basically, I went batshit crazy."

What the Fuck? How has all of this been going on and I had no idea of anything? She didn't tell me, Viktoria, my Mother, no one. I was mad, really mad, but I promised not to be. I knew I shouldn't have accepted that. The flags went up as soon as she made me promise, I should have known better. _Breathe Dimitri, hear her out, let her finish._

She looked at me, gauging my reaction, I guess I was hiding my inner battle well. She continued after another moment of silence.

"I have caught up in my schooling, my GPA did suffer, but I am really trying to bring it back up. I haven't done anything stupid or reckless in the last eight months or so. I really am trying, Dimitri. It has been hell not having you around. I know you had to leave to do what you needed to do, but it hasn't been easy for me. I am not blaming you, please don't think that I am. It's just, I don't know, something in me snapped when you left. I couldn't control myself anymore, it scared me. So I embraced it, I ran with the new feelings, until it got really bad. I crashed off the high I was on and I wanted nothing more than to end my life, then and there."

Now I was fuming, I could barely contain it. _Let her finish, let her finish, don't blow up now. She will stop talking and it could ruin everything._

"I went to Tasha." I was not expecting that. "I talked to her for hours that weekend. She told me about how she has overcome her trials and gave me the strength I needed to pull myself out of it. Mainly by reminding me that I had you. That no matter how bad life got, I still had you and your love."

She reached forward and wiped the tears I hadn't noticed fall, away.

"Please, Dimitri, don't cry. I am doing much better now, you don't need to worry."

"Roza, how can I not worry? You just told me you wanted to die!" I was crying harder now. Dimitri Belikov doesn't cry, for anything, but this, this broke me.

"But I am better,.." I cut her off.

"It doesn't matter Rose, the point is you felt like that at all! How could you keep something like this from me, especially after seeing what Tasha went through! How could my family not tell me anything? How could you, I don't understand!" I didn't mean to yell at her, but I didn't and couldn't understand how everyone could keep this from me. Doesn't she realize how much I love her, what I would do to protect her.

"Only Viktoria knew anything about what was really going on. I stopped going over to your house for a while. She caught me in the hall at school one day and wouldn't let me go till I talked to her. I made her swear not to tell anyone, especially you. Lissa knows, but only because she went with me to see Tasha. No one else really had any idea what was really going on in my head. I really understand Tasha now."

I couldn't handle anymore, I let out heart wrenching sobs, shaking my whole body. My Roza was battling for her life and I wasn't here to help her.

She scooted over and wrapped me up in her tiny arms. I wrapped mine around her, crying into her hair. I couldn't control my emotions anymore, I let go of all of them. Fear for Roza, anger that she was battling through all this by herself, for not being here when she needed me. All of it, I let go. I had failed, again.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

I knew this would be hard for him to hear, hell, it was hard for me to tell him, but he needed to know. I never intended to keep all of this from him, there was just never a good or right time to tell him. When he was home on break, I just wanted to spend the time I could with him. Happy and in love. I wanted him to be able to enjoy his time with his family, not dealing with my baggage.

I ran my fingers through his hair and let him cry. I don't know of a time I have ever seen him cry like this, cry at all really. After about ten minutes, his body stopped shaking, he lifted his head to look into my eyes. His filled with so many emotions I couldn't keep track. Sadness, anger, fear, but most of all, love. No matter what, love was always there. That is how I pulled out of my downward spiral. Knowing that no matter what happens in life, the one thing I was sure of, he would always love me. It's also why I started writing songs, it helped to put everything down into words of my own.

"Roza." he started, but had to take a few deep breaths, his voice was hoarse. "First, you know I love you and I will always love you, no matter what. Second, I am not going anywhere, ever again. I will come home and take care of you. I will give up the Majors and stay here." No, that couldn't happen, I would never forgive myself if he gave up his dreams for me.

"I love that you are willing to do that for me, but I can't let you. I could never live with myself if you gave up your dreams for me. Like I said, I am doing a lot better now. I haven't had any bad feelings or bouts of crazy in a long time. Please, Comrade, please, don't give up your dreams."

"Roza, my dream is to be with you and to have a family. Nothing in the world is worth me losing you."

"You won't lose me, I promise." I meant that, with everything in me. I would fight everyday to make sure I was worthy of him. Along with proving to the rest of the world I am not a failure.

"You know, no matter what, I will always stand by you, right? I will be with you through everything, but you have to let me. You can't keep things like this from me. If, at any point, you feel down or anything, please tell me. Promise?"

"I promise. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. You're truly the only thing keeping me going most days. My mother has written me off as a failure and complete disappointment. Dad has been there through everything, but mom, well I may as well be dead to her."

"Is that why you are staying at my house?"

"Yes, I told Dad I didn't want to go back home where I had to be around her. He said he had no problem with me staying with your family. Makes it easier when we buy groceries and pay bills for Mama." He raised one eyebrow, I forgot he didn't know about that either. Damn.

"What do you mean?"

"Paul got sick this month, so bills got a little tight. Karolina's job cut her hours, so Sonja is the only one working full time. So me and Dad ordered groceries online and had them delivered to the house day before yesterday. I called the water and electric companies and had a six hundred dollar credit put on both, that way she didn't have to worry about those for a little bit."

"Why didn't anyone tell me? They are my family, my responsibility!"

"Vika said Mama wasn't asking anyone for help, she's stubborn, like you all are. I didn't want you worried about home, so I took care of it. They are my family too, you know."

"I am sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I love that you consider them your family and are willing to help them. I would have liked to know though."

"It all happened in the last 2 days, it's been a little hectic."

He just nodded. He laid down on the quilt and reached out for me. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. His hand ran through the ends of my hair, while I traced idle patterns on his stomach. It felt really good to finally get all of that off my chest. I hated keeping things from him, I just didn't want him to worry, or give everything up to come home. I knew he would say that, I just couldn't let that happen.

We laid there for hours, finally my stomach started growling and we knew it was time to get moving.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

It had taken everything in me to not give everything up and be home with her. She wanted me to continue on with my dreams, deep down I knew I should. Babushka's vision rang in the back of my mind, _"_ _There is trouble ahead, don't stray from your path, no matter what. Hardships and trials make the strongest warriors."_

She wasn't talking just about me, but about Roza too. She would come out stronger than ever after this, after everything. I had to stay on my path and focus on building our future. It brought me back to thinking about what was happening at school. Maybe Ivan and I should stay and try to figure out what is going on with the team. I don't want to abandon my teammates and god forbid something actually happen to them. I wouldn't be able to live with that. " _It will be hard, don't stop fighting to see the light."_ babushka said.

I took Rose to "Texas Roadhouse" for dinner, they have the best rolls and steaks in the world. We ate in silence, I was glad that it was like normal, not awkward. I knew I had to tell her at some point about what was going on at Vanderbilt, but I wanted to wait for another day or so. We needed to get through with what she was dealing with first.

We made our way back home roughly two hours later. Stopping by her house, so she could get some clothes and necessities. I waited downstairs while she went to gather her things.

"Dimitri, son, can you come into my office for a quick moment?" Abe asked.

"Everything okay, Abe."

"For the moment, yes. I just wanted to thank you for your quick thinking and helping Rosemarie. It is a debt I can not repay."

"As long as you let me marry her, consider us even." I said laughing.

"I think I can do that. Though, not any time soon, right?"

"No, I still have a few years before I plan on proposing."

A thought crossed my mind sitting here, Abe is a very influential man. If something really was going on at Vanderbilt, I bet he could help me get to the bottom of it.

"Hey Abe, could I ask you something random?"

"Sure thing."

"What could a person gain from making everyone around them disoriented?"

"I am not quite sure what you asking, care to elaborate."

"I have a theory about something going on at my school. A few weeks ago we got a new head coach. Ever since he took over, we haven't won a game, my teammates seem to be out it come game time. I think the coach is putting something in our drinks, I just have no idea as to why he would do that."

"Well, depending on what is actually in the drink and what its doing to the players, there could be many reasons. Can you send me a sample of the drink to be tested. I can have my people run some test to see what it is."

"Sure, it shouldn't be hard. He only does it on game days though. All week during practice everyone seems to be fine, but come game day, it's like they can't function properly. Ivan and I are the only ones that don't drink the stuff he makes."

"Don't let on that you know anything just yet. If you do, his plan could be interrupted and that could cause something worse to happen. Just get it to me as quickly as you can. If I need to, I will make a trip to Tennessee."

"We're playing here at UT Austin this week. Well, Ivan and I won't be, we were benched for leaving campus and missing practice."

"Don't worry son, You will play. I will take care of that. Now, you need to get back to campus soon so I can pull the strings needed."

"I wanted to stay with Rose for a few more days. I just need to make sure she is okay."

"She will be, she has myself and your family taking care of her. You need to get back to school, you can tell her I said you had to go now rather than later if you like." It didn't escape me that he didn't mention Janine as well. I guess things were really bad there.

"Thanks, Abe. I'll head back tomorrow. I can text you when we are getting ready to come down for the game. You can meet us in Austin so you can see for yourself. Plus, I know Rose, Vika and Lissa will be there."

"Very well, oh and what is your Coaches name?"

"Dashkov, Victor Dashkov."


	21. Pt 2: Ch 7:Find Out Who Your Friends Are

_**Part 2: Chapter 7: Find Out Who Your Friends Are**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Ivan and I took off for Tennessee that next night. Rose wasn't too happy about us going so soon, but once I explained what was happening, she packed my bags for me. I told Ivan about Abe's new involvement in the matter, he was skeptical at first.

"Do we really need to involve your mobster father-in-law?"

"I couldn't think of anyone else that could help. Besides you know Abe has a way of figuring things out quickly, that's what we need. I don't want whatever Dashkov is planning to get out of hand and someone get hurt."

"That's my point though, the man has ways, most of which are illegal. You do know his "businesses" are just cover for the real operation right?"

"What would that be, Ivan?"

"It's obvious! He's running the Turkish Mafia!"

I almost ran off the road, did he really just say that! "Ivan, you're being ridiculous. He is a business man, no matter what kind of business it is. Plus, if it helps us, I really don't care what the man does."

"You want to marry into his family, not knowing what he really does? Bold move, Belikov, bold move."

I ignored him after that. I really could care less what Abe does, I am marrying Rose, not Abe. I know Rose has no interest in taking over Abe's businesses when he dies. It will be sold to the highest bidder, as for his side work, that will die with him.

We managed to make it to the school just before practice was to start for the day. Coach ripped up in half, telling us how irresponsible it is to just up and leave when the team needed us. The game was still 2 days away, all we missed was practice. Ivan and I practice all the drills together, so in reality, no routine was disturbed by us leaving. Nonetheless, he yelled for about 20 minutes before telling us that someone, somewhere really likes us, because he was told not to bench us for the game on Saturday.

Thank you, Abe.

The next two days went by in a blur, since he couldn't bench us, he had us running laps and drills for an extra two hours after practice ended. We were dead on our feet when we got on the bus Friday morning. Since the travel time was under 16 hours, we had to ride the bus. If it was longer, we would fly. After making the trip just 2 days earlier, I was not eager to be back in a vehicle doing it again. That much driving makes the body stiff, and we weren't making any stops, even worse. I put my headphones in, texted Abe and then tried to sleep.

* * *

 _ **APOV(ABE)**_

"What was Dimitri talking about Victor Dashkov for?" Janine asked walking into my office, just after Dimitri left.

"That's his new Coach at Vanderbilt. He believes something weird is going on with the players on his team. I am going to try to help him."

"Victor is the half brother of a Serial Killer we caught years ago. He tried to testify in his brothers defense, but the evidence was too much."

"How did he kill them?"

"He poisoned them, with a mixture of Ecstasy and Methamphetamines. He was slipping into people's drinks at the bars he frequented."

"What were the symptoms of the victims?"

"When they start coming down, their body would overheat, it was like the boiled from the inside out, until their heart couldn't take it anymore."

"Huh. Dimitri said that the players were disoriented, they can't focus or move properly."

"That sounds like Ketamine to me. It causes delirium, impaired motor functions and feeling a loss of control."

I thought about this for a minute, could Dashkov be trying to finish up the work of his brother? Or was his brother just inspiration for his plan? Why is he targeting the Vanderbilt baseball team? I picked up my phone to call in an old favor.

"Tatiana, It's Abe, Abe Mazur...I'd like to cash in."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

I talked with Olena over the last few days. I had a nightmare last night, and I have been skittish to drink anything I didn't get out of an unopened container. But for the most part I thought I was doing okay. I finally went back to school on Wednesday. Dimitri and Ivan left Tuesday night to go back to Vanderbilt, he said that if they didn't get back soon coach was benching them both for 2 weeks. I packed his bags and sent them on their way. I would see him in two days anyways, they are playing in Austin, against Christian.

School was as expected, lots of stares and whispers about what happened at the party. I just wanted it all to go away, it happened, let it go. Unfortunately for me, even though Jesse and his shadows were arrested and are currently being held in Arlington PD jail cells, his girlfriend and other friends are still here.

Natalie Voda, Jesse's girlfriend, wanted to make my life a living hell. It was bad enough when she had a thing for Dimitri and Ivan, who wouldn't give her the time of day, she tormented me and Viktoria for weeks. Now that I am the reason Jesse is behind bars, she was out for blood. Telling everyone I lied and was just saying that because I didn't want to admit I cheated on Dimitri, calling me a slut and worse. I tried to ignore all the comments I heard throughout the day. I would fall back if I let them get to me, I promised myself to not let that happen. I would fight, all I had to do was fight till the end of the school year. A month and a half to go, I can do this.

"Rose, how are you doing today?" Lissa asked falling into step with me.

"Alright, I guess, lots of staring still, I really could do without it."

"Don't worry, after the weekend everyone will have forgotten about it."

I hoped she was right, but I had a feeling this is just the beginning. We made our way to the Cafe for lunch and ran into none other than, you guessed it, Natalie.

"Oh look, it's the school slut, gracing us with her presents. Tell me Rose, who are you going to fuck next? I am sure Brandon and Reed would like go a round with you. Or have you already made it through the Varsity line up?"

"Fuck off, Natalie. Just because you slept with the football team doesn't mean everyone else is." Vika came to my rescue. Good timing, I was two seconds away from flattening her like a pancake.

"Is she sharing with you now, Viktoria. How sweet, the pretend sisters making the rounds together."

The rage was boiling inside of me, begging to be let out. _Breathe Rose, Breathe, You can't let her get to you. Walk away._

"Walk away, Vika, it's not worth it. Let's go get lunch." I said grabbing her arm.

Trying to control the Hathaway side that was chomping at the bit to come out was getting hard. I could only keep her back for so long. I feared once she was out, I would never be able to come back. It was like I had split personalities, if the other came out, I wouldn't be in control. It scared the shit out of me.

"Thank you." I told Vika once we were sitting down at our table.

"You don't have to thank me, you're my sister. I would do anything for you, just like you would do for me."

Mason and Eddie joined us next. We all sat in silence for a little bit, Lissa was the one to break it.

"So, who all is going to Austin this weekend for the game?"

"Mia and I are driving down Friday night, I booked us a hotel for the weekend."

"Jill and I will be driving down Saturday. It took me a good hour to get her parents to agree to me taking her."

"Are Sydney and Adrian coming too?" I asked Eddie.

"Yea, they are going down on Friday night."

"Lissa are you riding with me and Vika?"

"That depends, I plan on staying the weekend with Christian. Will you be able to stay with the guys?"

"Ivan and Dimitri said this new coach is a jackass, so I doubt we can sneak into their hotel." Vika said.

"Then I will drive myself. That way you guys can try and spend what time you can with them and not have to worry about me."

"Sounds good, I guess we can let Paul ride with us down there. Then he can go home with Mama, while we book a hotel." I suggested, Vika nodded.

The bell rang just then signaling the end of lunch, we all threw our trash out and made our way to the next class. Three more hours and the day will be over.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

Tatiana had pulled through faster than I thought she could. I had an entire background packet ran on Victor Dashkov. Family and medical history, bank statements, phone records, the works. First bit of interesting information was he had a daughter, a daughter who happened to go to school with Rose. She had her mother's last name, so no immediate connection was made. As far as anyone knew, she didn't know who her father is. That is a lie, she knows, and she has been in contact with him for the last several months. His phone records show several calls to and from her.

Second, He had a chronic illness that was killing him, slowly, but surely. Apparently, there are no outward signs that he is sick. Dimitri would have noticed it if there was. Medical records show he only has about one year of life left. So what is he doing coaching college baseball?

Third, very recently, he visited the prison his brother is currently being held at. Tarasov. There is no recording or physical record of what was said between the brothers, but if I had to guess, I would say he needed help with his plan.

What is his plan? What does a dying man have to gain from poisoning young men? Why these men? There were now a lot more questions and fewer answers. I needed to speak with Dimitri as soon as they get here. I need to sample that drink and see what is in it.

My phone chimed early Friday morning, _"We are on the bus, I will let you know when we hit Texas. -Dimitri"_

They would be here in roughly twelve hours, "Pavel?"

"Yes, Abe."

"Ready for a road trip?"

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

We arrived at our hotel at 10pm Friday night. I was so sore from sitting for almost 12 hours, all I wanted was a hot shower and to go to bed. Apparently, that was not going to happen just yet.

"What the hell, Abe? How did you get in here?"

"I have my ways."

Ivan leaned into my ear, "Mafia, I told you." I told him to shut up and turned my attention back to Abe.

"So, I hope you have figured something out, I know you haven't been sitting around the last 3 days."

"Of course I have, sit, we have much to talk about. So first, how are you doing with the sample."

"He made Ivan and I load the coolers, punishment, we swapped them. So the ones on the bus are clean. I did get a bottle of the original cooler before we dumped it." I said handing it to him.

"You're sure it was already contaminated?"

"He always mixes it before we leave. Then the players are the ones to transport them from there, they are always in sight, so he would have to do it before leaving."

"Pavel, lets test for Ketamine first. If that doesn't react, we can test for the Ecstasy and Methamphetamine mixture."

"What? Ecstasy and meth?" Ivan said.

"While he does the test let me fill you in…" Abe launched into telling us everything he had found out in the last 24 hours. I couldn't believe most of it. For one, Dashkov didn't look sick at all, but he was dying everyday. Second, his brother is a serial killer, one who he is still talking to. Third,...

"Natalie? Really, she's his daughter?"

"It would appear so, according to her birth certificate. Her mother had left Victor when Natalie was just a baby. She said he wasn't well mentally and she feared for her and her daughter. Natalie has been in contact with Victor for about a few months now. Do you know anything about her?"

"Other than she is a bitch." Ivan said, "She had a thing for both of us when we were in High school. Her freshman year she practically stalked both of us. When she found out we were with Vika and Rose. She started dating my cousin Jesse and together made their lives hell."

That was very true, Natalie has always hated my sister and Rose. When we were younger I always tried to be nice to her, she was shy and very recluse. Freshman year, she followed us just about everywhere. Then sophomore year, she had told Ivan and I about her feelings, but neither of us could return them. That's when she started dating Jesse and everything changed. I can only imagine what's happening now that Jesse is locked up.

"What is the possibility that this is about us?" I had to ask, knowing that Natalie is related to Dashkov rose a lot of questions.

"Honestly, I don't know, but I would say its a place to start. If she wanted the two of you to pay for rejecting her, this is one hell of a way to do it."

"But why keep poisoning the players? He'd have noticed by now that neither of us drink the Gatorade he makes. Why keep doing it?"

"I don't know. There are too many questions and not enough answers right now. As time goes on, we will find out more, so we have to keep working theories going until we get something more concrete."

Pavel finished the test and found something even more alarming than we thought.

"Positive for Ecstasy and Methamphetamines. No trace of Ketamine."

"So he planned on taking you all out today." Abe said, looking back at Ivan and I "That mixture, would kill you."

What is happening right now! Ivan and I just stared at Abe.

"You're kidding, right? He wasn't really planning on killing us, right?" Ivan asked.

"Pavel, you are one hundred percent sure?"

"Yes sir, the test doesn't lie. Both solutions for Ecstasy and Meth changed color, Ketamine didn't."

"Okay, we need to call the police and have them come and file a report. Maybe if they have enough evidence right here, they can arrest him."

We all sat in our room, waiting, about 20 minutes later the police showed up. I told them everything, how we suspected something was wrong with the team. How I thought the Gatorade was being poisoned. How the coach was related to a serial killer who used this exact method to kill his victims. How Ivan and I took a sample out of the cooler and swapped them so no one would get hurt. Everything.

They ran their own test on the drink, but they could actually tell how much of each was in it. The levels it showed were off the chart, enough to shut your system down in as little as 30 minutes. He really wasn't pulling any punches this time, but the why still remained.

They said they had enough probable cause to detain him, but they would need a warrant to search his belongings and see if he possessed any of the drugs. They could hold him here for 72 hours without charging him, that would give them enough time to get the warrant, and to contact the police back home to search his residence. I could only pray that he was stupid enough to leave some there for the police to find.

I watched the officers leave our room and walk down the hall to Dashkov's. They knocked several times before calling for a master key. Another minute later, the door was opened.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So anyone know where I got the idea of the drug from? If you can answer, I will send a short clip of the following chapter.

Hints: An American show, has several seasons, Crime/Drama

Extra bonus if you can tell me the episode.


	22. Part 2: Chapter 8: He Didn't Have to Be

_**Part 2: Chapter 8: He Didn't Have to Be**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Dashkov laid in the middle of the bed, not breathing, blood coming out of his ears, eyes and nose. The officers called and asked Ivan and I to make a positive ID on him. I wanted to throw up, Ivan actually did.

"How did this happen?" I asked the officer.

"Honestly, I have no idea. We will have to send him off for an autopsy in order to determine the exact cause of death." He replied.

Abe stood outside the door, a calculated look on his face. He picked up his phone and dialed someone. "Janine, how exactly did Victor's brothers victims die?...What happened after that? That's what I needed to know, thank you."

"What's going on? Do you know how he died?" I turned to ask Abe.

"By his own hand if I had to guess. That is what happened to his brothers victims." he said pointing to the bloody Dashkov.

"So you're saying that's what could have happened to us?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. As for how, or why it happened to him, I couldn't tell you. But I am sure the toxin screen will show the mixture in his system."

We all stood there, just looking at him. I felt sick, but I also felt relief. I know I should feel bad that the guy is dead, but he was going to hurt my team, and me, I was beyond thankful that we didn't suffer that pain.

"Come on boys, let the officers do what they need to. You need to get sleep before the game tomorrow." Abe said.

"Can we even play without a Coach?"

"Let me handle it."

Of course, more strings and connections to make everything work. Maybe Ivan was right. I let that thought go for now though, I was exhausted and queasy after seeing a dead body. Ivan and I headed back down the hall, Abe went with Pavel up a floor to their room.

With Dashkov gone, they wanted us to forfeit the game, since we didn't even have our assistant coach here, he was on maternity leave with his wife. Abe convinced them to let us play anyways, saying he would step in for the day as our coach. He even called the school and told them about everything, we were now looking for a new head coach.

* * *

We won against Christian, much to his dismay, but we had a blast playing together again, even if we were on opposite teams. After the game, we all went out to dinner and drank the night away.

"I was expecting you guys to get slaughtered today. I heard that you had been losing your last few games, even against Washington." Chris laughed.

"Well, there has been a lot going on, we can't really talk about it right now, but let's just say, we are back with a vengeance. We only lost 3 so we still have a shot of making playoffs." I said.

"Well I look forward to seeing you guys do something big. We are doing well here, but I don't think they have what it takes to go all the way. Hell, I am the best player on the team, that's saying something." We all laughed and agreed.

"How is everything going with Rose? Is she going to be okay?"

"Yea, she already let it all go. I am proud of her. She really doesn't remember anything, so that helps."

"Only another month and change, then they will all be out of the shit hole that is St. Vlads." Ivan said.

"Are they following you guys to Tennessee or staying home?"

"I haven't asked Rose yet, but I think she wants to come to Tennessee. She has always wanted to get out of Texas. This would be a good opportunity for her."

"Vika hasn't said anything yet, only that she wants to go to law school. But she hasn't decided where, or she hasn't told me yet."

"Liss is coming here, she found a fashion course she wants to take."

"Go figure." I laughed.

Just then the girls walked in, they had all gone back to the hotel to change. We spent the rest of the evening laughing and sharing old and new stories. It was nice to just relax with all our friends. The night ended as we made our way back to the hotel. Rose and Vika had booked a room, so Rose came to stay with me and Ivan went to Vika.

I spent the night filling Rose in on the truth of everything that was going on. Having our coach die before a game sent red flags up for everyone. No one knew exactly what happened, except for Ivan and I. So we told the team everything, needless to say, we're all glad that none of us got hurt due to his scheme. Now we can move on and play like we're supposed to.

When we woke the next morning, we had to load the bus and get ready to head back home. Another 12 hours cramped up, lovely.

"I love you, Comrade. Be safe, please."

"Always am, Roza. I love you, too."

Giving her one last kiss I made my way up the stairs of the bus, you have got to be kidding me!

"Abe, what are you doing now?"

"You needed a new Coach, I have offered my services to the school and they accepted."

"Please, Kill me now. You don't even know anything about baseball!"

I could hear Ivan laughing in the back. My future father in law is now my Coach. What did I ever do to deserve this? It was bad enough to have to deal with him when I was home. Now I had to deal with him everyday.

"Oh come on, Son. You know, this is great bonding time for us. We have lots to talk about before you marry my daughter."

"You don't scare me, Abe. I have known you for too long." Okay, so that was a lie, he still scared me shitless.

"Sure..", he said, patting my back, "Well you want to take your seat so we can get on the road."

"You don't even have stuff to take to Vanderbilt. What are you going to do until they find us and actual coach?"

"Pavel is going home and will pack some stuff for us. Then he will be driving to the school. I can buy anything else I may need."

"Okay. One thing though," he waited, "You have to stop wearing those ridiculous suits. That is no way to dress for baseball."

"Noted."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

My poor Comrade, first he had to deal with a psychotic coach, now he has to deal with my father. I feel really bad for the guys on the team, no doubt dad is going to have too much fun with this. I watched as they drove away in the team bus, while Vika and I packed up and headed home. Lissa was staying one more day with Christian, but since Ivan and Dimitri were leaving today, Vika and I didn't want to stay in Austin.

"So, what are we going to do about Natalie when we get back to school?" Vika said breaking the silence in the car.

"Nothing. We act as if we don't know anything about her supposed father and his death."

"Are you worried?"

"About Natalie or Dimitri and Ivan?"

"Mainly Natalie. She is bound to find out soon and Lord only knows what's going to happen then. Apparently mental instability runs in that family."

"That is true."

Victor's brother being a deranged serial killer, Natalie's mom left Victor because she feared his mental state and Natalie herself, well she was just crazy. She wasn't always like that, something happened to her, no one just switches like that. Well, okay, maybe I did for a while, but I came back to myself, she hasn't.

The four hour drive home passed quickly, as did the whole day Sunday. I spent most of the day at home finishing up a few songs I had been working on. Mom ignored me as always. I figured she would, now that dad wasn't coming home, she had no reason to conversate with me. Dad has been trying to get us to talk and work out our issues for the last year, no luck. I didn't mind though, her staying in her world and me in mine, made life easier.

I picked Viktoria up on Monday morning like always and we headed to school. We were tense on the drive, knowing we would have to face Natalie today. I reminded Vika to not say anything or even mention the game. Hopefully we can stay under the radar.

The day drug on and on, by lunch, I wanted nothing more than to go home, well Olena's and crawl in bed. Eddie and Mason joined us at the table, talking admintly about how good the game was.

"Did you see how many strikeouts he had? Dimitri is a God now!" Mason said.

"He has always been a God, Mase."

"Yes, we are well aware of your view of him, Rose. I however, am talking about baseball." he laughed.

"So was I! Man, get your mind out of the gutter would you."

"How many offers has he gotten so far?" Eddie asked.

"One, from Tampa Bay. Once he told them he was going to graduate before accepting offers, the word spread. There have been several scouts looking at him, but no one has talked to him since."

"Any from Texas?"

"No, he hasn't seen Rangers or Astro scouts out there yet. I am hoping though, we both want him to go to the Rangers."

"Wait till his Senior year, he will have every scout out there. With the way he is playing now, he is bound to get several offers."

We chatted until the bell rang, then we all headed to our afternoon classes. Walking out of the Cafe, I realized, I haven't seen or heard Natalie today. Usually she is easy to spot, surrounded by her obnoxious friends and loud as all get out, but nothing today. I wonder if she already found out about her father. I need to ask Adrian, he always knows what's going on with everyone.

R: Hey, have you seen Natalie today?

 _A: Her mom pulled her from school this morning._

R: Do you think she knows?

 _A: I would assume so, but not sure._

R: I hope her mom withdrew her, that would make life easy.

 _A: One can only hope._

With that mystery solved, the day went by a little faster. I was grateful to get home and relax.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I had just set my bags down, it was past ten pm, when my phone started ringing.

"Yes, Abe?"

"Dimitri, we need to go shopping."

"Really? Can't you handle that on your own?"

"You're the one that said I had to stop wearing, what did you call it, "my ridiculous suits". So you will go with me and help me get what I need to be a proper Coach."

I knew better than to refuse a direct order from Abe. I guess this bonding stuff was starting now.

"Can we go tomorrow afternoon? I didn't sleep much last night." As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

"Why is that, Belikov?" His toned switched to something sinister.

"I was up telling Rose about everything that had happened with Dashkov. We didn't go to sleep till four or so. Plus, the bus ride always makes me tired." I explained.

"Very well. Tomorrow, nine am. Be ready." his voiced lightened up a little, but not much.

I hung up with him and crashed onto my bed, so much for sleeping in. I really hope they find a new coach, fast.

* * *

"No, you don't want to wear slacks on a baseball field. For one, you will boil, it's too hot. Second, they will get dirty in 5 minutes. Coaches wear the same thing the players do. The school will provide game day jerseys and pants, as well as some practice gear. So you really just need some workout style clothes and shoes."

"I have to wear the same thing you do?"

"Yupp, we have to all be uniformed." I was going to enjoy this, Abe never wore anything but his tailored suits. Seeing him in a baseball uniform, that would be hilarious.

I took a picture of him looking at a rack of baseball pants and sent it to Rose.

D: The torture has begun. Shopping with your father.

 _R: Aww, he looks so lost. Help him._

D: Really? No sympathy for me. I see how it is. I have been helping, he is not happy about having to wear what we do.

 _R: What did you expect? He has to keep up his "Mob Boss" look._

D: Well he will have a hard time doing that in shorts.

 _R: REALLY! Pictures, please!_

D: I will try to get one during practice. I love you, miss you.

 _R: Love you, too, Comrade. Please, try to make it work out there. Believe it or not, he is really excited about this. He won't say it, but he is._

D: I will.

In all honesty, I was glad to have time to spend with Abe, I would never admit that to him though. Sure, his reputation isn't the best, but his is going to be my father in law and he is the closest thing I've had to a dad in my life. Ever since he helped get rid of the man responsible for my conception. He has always been there when I or my family needed something.

* * *

** _ **Flashback****_

I was only 4, almost 5 when we moved from Russia to America. My so called "father" had a business venture he was so sure would make him a millionaire, he uprooted our whole family and brought us to Texas. After about 5 years he was completely bankrupt. Mama was struggling to feed us 4 kids so babushka came over from Russia to help.

My father was in and out of our lives at this point, always chasing some imaginary money trail. He would come home, drunk as ever, and he would threaten my mother. I always thought, in my younger years, that they were just threats. But around age 13 I realized that my mother had been hiding the bruises rather well. I heard her and babushka talking one night after all us kids went to bed. I stayed in the hallway trying to hear my mother speak through her constant sobbing. I knew then that something was definitely wrong. Then I saw the marks, her arms were the worst but her legs and stomach had their fair share too.

I saw red, pure and utter hatred for the man who was supposed to be a role model. A child's first hero is supposed to be their father. He was nothing but a nightmare, a villain and I couldn't let him come back and do anything to my mother again. A few days later when he showed up again, I made Karo take Sonja and Vika upstairs and hide in her room.

As soon as I heard the first slap I was down the stairs and aimed straight for him. I may have only been 13 but I was already pushing 6 foot and weighted 120 solid muscle. I charged at him and tackled him to the ground, hard. His head it the ground and I swear I heard something crack. I punched him, a lot, his face, chest, stomach, anywhere my arms would extend to. My mother was screaming at me to stop, but it sounded like a whisper to me. The rage I had took over my whole body, I could see nothing, hear nothing but red. Finally, I stopped when I heard Roza's voice.

At some point my mother called her dad, Abe or better known as Zemy. Zemy has his hands in a lot of different pots and is not one you want to mess with. He and Rose came straight over as soon as mama rang, they only live 3 houses down so it didn't take them long. Rose was pleading with me, begging me to hear her and stop. When I looked into her eyes she gasped and took a step back. I felt like the worst person in the world. I knew I would have blood all over my hands and body, but she wasn't even looking there. No, it was my eyes, my eyes had gone completely black.

"Dimitri….Comrade...I need you to take a few steps back and breathe.", she sounded terrified. The look in her eyes was pure fear, of me or for me, I wasn't sure, but it was my fault it was there to begin with. I held her gaze for a few minutes, I never spoke. Finally she smiled at me, "There's my Comrade."

"Roza, Oh Roza, I am so sorry you had to see that. I don't know what came over me, but I couldn't let him keep doing that to mama." I was so worried she was going to tuck tail and run. She would probably never want to see me again. She grabbed my face between her tiny hands and kissed my forehead.

"Its okay now, Dimitri. You did the right thing, now let's get you cleaned up."

Rose helped me clean up and Abe sat me down to talk.

"Are you okay, son?"

"No, I just beat the hell out of my father and scared Rose. I don't know what came over me. I had to protect them. You know that right, I would never do something like that if it wasn't for a reason."

"Dimitri, I know. I know you would never harm anyone without reason. You did what you had to do to protect your mother, you did good, son."

"Then why do I feel so bad?"

"Because, for better or worse, he is your father."

"I don't want him as a father, I would rather have you."

"I would be honored to be your father figure, Dimitri. I may not be the best, but I will always be here if you need me."

 _ ****End Flashback****_

* * *

I could only hope, one day, I would be half the man Abe is. He raised Rose by himself for ten years, helped me and my family, even though he had no reason too. He taught me how to drive and helped me buy my truck. Took my sisters to the father daughter dance in high school, so they wouldn't be the only one without their dad. Pavel even stepped in for Viktoria, since Abe took Rose for their dance. He was there for all of our graduations, even birthdays when he wasn't traveling. And now, when my team lost our Coach, he stepped up, even though he has no knowledge of baseball. Like I said, he may not have the best reputation, but if there is one thing to admire about him, he loves with all his heart and would do anything for his family.

"Dimitri, would these work?" he said, holding up his selection of shirts and cargo shorts.

I snapped back into reality, "Yea Dad, that would be fine."

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So, I originally planned for this to go another way, but I decided, Victor had to die in order to form the bond I was looking for between Dimitri and Abe. (And I really just don't like him.) Sorry if it seems abrupt. Now, how did we all like the moment between Dimitri and Abe in the store?


	23. Part 2: Chapter 9: Stealing Cinderella

_**Authors Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, can we hit 60 after this chapter? Any one who reviews wiil get a snap of the next chapter!**_

 _ **I know you have it in you. As always, enjoy.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own VA.**_

* * *

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 9: Stealing Cinderella**_

 _ **DPOV**_

The look on Abe's face, kodak moment. First was the look of shock, did I really just call him that? Second, was a face splitting grin. I however, was freaking out inside. I didn't mean to call him "Dad", I was just so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn't think about it.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to call you that. I was just texting Rose and I guess I wasn't thinking." I didn't know how he was going to react, I mean he is smiling, that's good right.

"It's okay, I actually liked the sound of that. I have always wanted a son, your the closest thing I have. Besides, like I have told you before, if your marrying my daughter, we are family. You can call me whatever you like."

"Zemy?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe not anything." he laughed.

I let out a breath of relief, glad that he wasn't going to have my head for calling him Dad or Zemy. We had lunch together at a place called "Loretta Lynn's Kitchen". It was a southern style mom and pop restaurant. Conversation flowed easily between us, it was like talking to Rose for the most part. I now see just how alike those two really are.

The rest of the week passed with ease. I caught up in class what I missed those few days I had taken off. Practice was interesting to say the least, we basically ran it ourselves while Abe and Pavel took notes on how things were done. We had a game in California this weekend so we would be boarding the plane in the next few hours. Abe offered Ivan and I our own rooms at the hotel, but we declined. I didn't want the guys to think we had special treatment.

The hotel we stayed at was definitely an upgrade from anything we have had before. Mine and Ivan's room held 2 king sized beds, a flat screen TV and a walk in shower with three different shower heads. Only the best, Abe had said, maybe there are more benefits to him being here than I thought.

 _Knock, Knock_

I got up to answer, surprised to see Abe standing there, he looked like he was ashamed of something.

"Dimitri, can you and Ivan help me make the roster for tomorrow. I think I got most of it right, but I just wanted you to double check it."

Abe coming to me, needing help, oh this is great. I felt a little bad that he looked so unconfident at the moment, but I loved that for once, I had an upper hand.

"Sure, come on in. Let's take a look at what you got here." Ivan and I sat on one of the beds, looking it over. "You need to move Josh up in the batting order. He isn't a big hitter, so he needs to be in the top three. Your fourth through eighth batters are your heavy hitters, like me and Ivan."

"Also, switch Matthew and Jackson, Matthew will be stronger in left because of the shape of the field. It's a larger area to cover and he is a lot faster than Jackson." Ivan chimed in.

"I didn't realize I needed to put that much thought into it. I just thought you all played one position." Abe said, he looked a little defeated.

I chuckled, "Yea, you just have to take some minor details into account. Most of the time you can get away with leaving everyone in their normal spots. You're not doing bad, Abe."

Mama always said a little reassurance can go a long way. It seemed to work, Abe smiled and headed back to his room.

"I never dreamed that he would ever come to us for help." Ivan said.

"I know, I kind of like having more knowledge than him, even if it is just in baseball."

"We should get ready for bed, we have to be up early. I am going to call Vika, if you want to shower first."

I showered quickly and switched with Ivan, picking up my phone I facetimed Rose.

" _Hey Comrade, how's it going with dad, you guys getting along? I mean you are breathing so I assume it's going okay."_

"Yea, it hasn't been bad. Most of the week he just watched us and how we normally practice. He actually just left our room, he needed help with the roster."

" _That's great. I am happy to hear."_

"Well I didn't tell you what happened the other day yet."

" _What did he do?"_

"He didn't do anything, I...I called him Dad."

She stared at me, not blinking, it was kind of creeping me out. I waited another second and she still didn't speak.

"Rose, did the phone freeze. Can you hear me?"

" _Yea, Just to make sure I heard right, you called him Dad. How did that happen?"_

"It was when we were shopping, I was texting you. I was thinking back to all he has done for me and my family. How I was actually grateful to spend time with him. It's nice to have a father figure around, even as a grown man. It just kind of slipped."

" _He didn't freak out on you?"_

"Nope, in fact he told me I could call him whatever I wanted, until I called him Zemy. He laughed about it though."

" _This is great, you have broken the infamous Ibrahim Mazur. I am so going to give him shit, he's going soft on me."_

"Don't! Please. Things are going well, I don't want him mad at me for telling you. Well I don't think he would be mad, more...I don't know, embarrassed. He is really out of his element here, but he is trying, so I give him credit."

" _Thank you for helping him, so are you… ahhh."_ she turned away from the camera, what the hell, _"Ivan, put a towel or something on, I do not want to see that!"_

I turned around to see Ivan in all his glory walking out of the bathroom. Maybe I should have sat back to the bed instead of the bathroom. My bad.

"Shit, sorry Rose, I didn't know you would be able to see me."

" _On that note, I will let you get some rest. I love you, good luck tomorrow, both of you."_

"I love you, too. I'll call you after the game."

I signed off and turned to look at Ivan.

"Really man, how is it my girlfriend saw you naked before she's seen me?"

"Sorry, I didn't know you had the phone facing this way, I am just used to it being us. Besides, she should get to see what a real man looks like at least once." he laughed.

I threw a pillow at him, "Good night, Ivan."

* * *

Southern Cali was definitely a hard team to play against. We went 7 straight innings with no hits for either team. Abe seemed at a loss for words at this point. He has been giving us pep talks the whole game, now he just sat there silently.

He looked out to the scoreboard and then to me, "Is this normal? Should someone have gotten on base or scored by now?"

"This, this is what baseball is all about. The harder the fight, the better the glory. It's not bad that neither of us has scored yet, just as long as _we_ score by the ninth."

"I can't believe you find enjoyment in this. I mean, how is no one doing anything exciting?"

I laughed, "Like I said, this is what baseball is all about. History is made in games like this."

"I just don't get it." he stood and addressed the team, "So, at this point I have no idea what to say. So someone please, put a run on the board so I can try to understand!"

Ivan stood up to head to the batter's box, "I got you Coach Zemy! Watch this."

Abe fixed Ivan with a death glare, the guy really didn't know when to shut up.

Ivan struck out, three straight pitches, I laughed as he walked back to the dugout.

"Watch what now, Ivan? I thought you had something to show me?" Abe said laughing.

He grumbled something about mob bosses under his breath, I continued to laugh and made my way to the box.

"Dimitri, If you don't get a hit, I am taking Rose's phone away!"

"You know that wouldn't keep us from talking right? She would just go to my Mama."

"Fine, then I withdraw my blessing." he said with a smile.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do, though, I know you would never do that."

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be bantering with Ibrahim Mazur, I would have called you a liar. Now, it was normal. Everyday there was something new he tried to threaten me with, that I would laugh off and do the opposite. It really was like father and son, I loved it.

I was pitched two balls back to back, I think he was starting to get tired, it's been a long game. Next pitch, strike, no big deal. Fourth pitch came across, right in the middle of the plate. Perfect. Taking my forward step and rotating, I launched it, dead center field. As I laid my bat down to round the bases, I looked in the dugout to Abe.

"What was that now? Should I go get the ring ready?"

"Shut up and run."

"Yes, Sir." I gave him a mock salute and took off.

Everyone in the dugout laughed, now with one run on the board, we were fired up. We had 4 more hits going into the ninth, only one run scored though. They came up to us in the eighth, so we needed to get another run or two on the board, then hold them. If we won today, it would be a huge confidence boost. After everything we have dealt with this season, we needed this.

Top of the ninth, Ivan was back up to bat, two runners on base. If he could get them home, that would be enough of a cushion. He managed a deep double into left field, scoring both runners. I was back up to the plate. We had only one out at this point, so even if I didn't hit, we still had another shot. The double play was out of the question since Ivan was already on second base.

Deep fly ball to right field. Ivan is fast, but he was only be able to tag and make it to third. Next batter struck out, leaving Ivan on base. Score was now 4 to 2, us leading. All I had to do was get three outs and the game would be over.

Ivan came up to the mound, "So I have an idea."

"That's dangerous."

"Ha, funny. So, this right here," he pointed to the inside of his glove, "This is Jesse's head, pummle it!"

"That, I can do."

Three for three, all struck out, game over, victory.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

I watched Dimitri lead the team to victory. I couldn't have been prouder than I was in that moment. He has had a rough life, he deserves this, deserves to excel and become something. When I made his father leave, I wondered what would become of the young man. Would he have his father's drunken tendencies? Would he abuse women, Rose? Watching him grow up, so protective of his family and my daughter, I knew, he would never turn out like him. He would be an amazing young man, strong, passionate, loving. Everything a father could want for their daughter.

The thought of my little girl growing up and becoming a wife and mother, well it broke my heart. I always wanted to imagine her as my little Cinderella, her short brown hair, and the puppy dog eyes that would make god himself fall to his knees. I can still see her, missing her two front teeth, wearing her white sundress, running around the playground. She would always be my little girl, no matter what, but now, I have a son. One who I am extremely proud to have watched grow into an amazing man.

I couldn't be happier.

"He will be good to her, you know that right?" Pavel said, watching me.

"I know, doesn't mean I am anywhere near ready to let her go."

"You still have time, neither of them want to make the next step for another few years."

"I hope so, but honestly, will I ever be ready to give her away? Even if it is to him?"

"No, but you will."

I watched him celebrate with his teammates, they all looked up to him, even if he was one of the younger guys on the team. He had this aura to him, that made people follow and respect him. Pavel's words stuck with me, I would never be ready to give her away, but I will. I will give her to him and I can trust that he will always do right by her.

"Congratulations, Boys! You all did very well." I told them as they walked back toward me, "Let's get packed up so we can get back to the Hotel and relax. You are free to do as you wish tonight, but please, be mindful and responsible."

"Abe, Pavel, would you like to join Ivan and I tonight?" Dimitri asked.

"You really don't want to hang out with us old men. Go and have fun."

"Really, we don't mind. I would like for you to come."

"Alright, we will meet you in the lobby, say an hour."

"Sounds perfect. Oh, and you can wear your ridiculous suit if you want." he said laughing.

"I think I just might."

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I woke up on the floor of a hotel room that wasn't mine, trapped between a table and the couch. I tried to move, but my head was throbbing and the room spun just a bit. I could hear laughing, sinister laughing at that.

"ZEMY! What did you do to me?"

"I didn't do anything to you, you are the one that decided to show everyone how to drink Vodka like a Russian. How are you feeling about it now?"

"Like I've been hit by a freight train. Where is Ivan?"

"He managed to get himself back to your room. You however, didn't make it to the couch." Pavel said.

"Yea, kind of figured that out." I tried to stand up again, but only managed to get onto the couch, half sitting, half laid down. "Please tell me I didn't do anything embarrassing?"

"Oh, no, not at all." The sinister laugh was back.

"Abe?"

"Here, watch." he handed me his phone.

Oh God, this can't be good. I pressed play and could hear an animal dying. I quickly found out, it was not an animal, I was singing, to Rose apparently. I really have to stop trying to be romantic while intoxicated, it is not pretty.

"Please tell me you did not send this to her."

"Didn't have too, Ivan sent it out on Facebook Live."

Oh, I am going to kill him.

After a few minutes, I was able to get up and walk to my room. Ivan was passed out in bed. I went into the bathroom and filled the little trash can with ice cold water.

Three, Two, One.

"Son of a Bitch! What the hell, D?"

"That is for posting the video on facebook."

He was now laughing, "Abe showed you. Man, that had to have been the funny shit I have ever seen you do!"

Honestly, I wasn't even mad that he had posted it. I was embarrassed at how I sounded, I wasn't a bad singer, but apparently my singing and alcohol were not friends.

"Get up and get dressed. We leave in an hour."

"Alright, Grandpa. Don't get your suspenders in a twist."

Apparently I left my phone in the room all night, good thing too, I didn't need to add drunk calling to the list of things I did. I had several notifications on facebook about the video, most were people just laughing or calling me a drunken romantic. I also had a few text from Rose. It would be around noon in Texas, so I called her.

" _Ah, so you are alive, Comrade. I was concerned after last night, you seriously sounded like you were dying."_

"Good morning to you too, Roza. How is your weekend going?"

" _Great, but you aren't getting out of telling me what the hell happened last night."_

"Well according to your father, I tried to show everyone how to drink Vodka, and it turns out, I am a hopeless as a singer when intoxicated."

" _You can say that again."_ she was laughing hard now. _"How many times have I told you not to sing while you have been drinking?"_

"I've never heard myself, now that I have, please, never let me do that again."

" _I make no promises to that. So anyways, I take it you guys won last night."_

"Yea, 4 to 2, it was a hell of a game. I hit a home run when Abe threatened to take back his blessing if I didn't hit."

" _Aww, that's my Comrade. I am proud of you, do you know that?"_

"Yes I do. Hey, I have to go, were heading to the airport soon and I still need to shower. I love you, Milaya. Have a good day."

" _You too, I love you."_

I disconnected and got my stuff together to head home. Things were looking up for us. We were winning again, Rose and I were doing great, even having Abe around was nice. I finished getting ready and headed down to the lobby to meet with the rest of the team.


	24. Part 2: Chapter 10: God Gave Me You

_**We hit 60, you guys are awesome. Thank you thank you so much. I am so happy to see you are enjoying this as much as I am. Keep the reviews coming, Part 2 will be wrapping up soon.**_

 _ **As always, I do not own VA!**_

* * *

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 10: God Gave Me You**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Over the next four weeks we won every game, playing Oregon, Mississippi, Alabama and Oklahoma. At this rate, we were looking really good and had a real shot at taking the College World Series. The series consisted of 64 teams total in a tournament style, best of three playoff. There is tough competition still to come, but we are riding on high hopes.

Right now, we were participating in a weekend scrimmage in Florida. Scrimmages are just practice games, mainly just to have some fun and goof off a little before the playoffs start. We finished up our game from this morning and were headed back to the hotel for lunch and to relax. We wouldn't have another game until tomorrow evening.

Ivan and I were not in the best of moods, the girls are graduating tonight, and we are stuck here. This is the first big day of their adult lives and we're missing it. I talked to Rose last night, letting her know that Abe had looked into everything he could, but there was no way we could make it. She wasn't happy by any means, but she understands.

"This is only the beginning, isn't it?" I asked Ivan.

"What is?"

"Missing the big moments, because of the game."

"Only for now."

"How so? If we go to the majors, we will be playing 162 games a year, not including pre and postseason. You don't get a option to take time off, not like we would if we held normal jobs."

"Yea, but we also get up to 5 months a year to be at home a hundred percent. It will be worth it in five or ten years, we can retire young and never work again if we wanted."

That was one way to look at it, though I could never not work again. I would take a year or so off after leaving the Majors, but I would have to do something with my time.

We sat in the overly expensive hotel room Abe had booked us. He paid for us to upgrade to a five star resort. He wanted all of us to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible. I told him it wasn't necessary, the hotel the school was willing to pay for wasn't bad. He insisted, telling us we had deserved to live in Luxury after everything we have overcome this season, plus, this trip was about relaxing and having fun.

 _Knock, Knock, Knock_

I answered the door, Abe stood before me, small duffle bag in his hand.

"Pack an overnight bag and meet me in the lobby in fifteen minutes." he walked away.

I looked at Ivan with an eyebrow raised and did what he said. Pavel and Abe were waiting when we got downstairs.

"What's going on?" Ivan asked.

"We're going home. I called in one last owed favor, there is a private jet waiting for us at Tampa International."

"Are you serious? Who is going to be here with the team?"

"Don't worry, Belikov. I will take care of them." Stan Alto said, walking toward our group.

"Coach Alto, it's great to see you, Sir. How is Tampa Bay treating you? What are you doing here?" I reached out to shake his hand. Ivan followed.

"Very well, thank you. Your coach here called me and said that you guys needed to make an overnight trip to Texas. So, I came over to help the guys practice tonight and watch over everything."

I couldn't believe it, I just stared at Abe. I was going to get to see Roza walk the stage, even better, she had no idea we were coming.

Ivan and I bounced in our seats the entire two and half hour flight, we haven't seen the girls since we played in Austin over a month ago. We flew into the Dallas Airport, from there, it would take us about half an hour to get to the school. Graduation started at six, so we had just under an hour.

Picking up the rental car, Pavel drove us straight to St. Vlad's. All the graduates had to gather in the cafeteria, then they would walk to to gym for the ceremony. We found a corner seat, so we wouldn't be seen until we wanted to be. My family didn't even know we were coming. So we kept quite up until Rose's name was called. It was hard for all of us not to scream and yell as Mason, Viktoria, Eddie, Lissa and Adrian crossed the stage. They all had family there to cheer for them though, Rose only had us four.

"Rosemarie Mazur", the announcer called. Abe, Pavel, Ivan and I all stood up and yelled. She wore her purple and gold gown, falling just below her knees. Her hair cascaded down her back in the soft waves I love so much. She looked radiant.

Every head in the room turned toward us, I guess we were pretty loud. I caught Rose's eyes from the stage, her mouth dropped open. She took off in a full sprint, in heels I might add, down the stage and headed straight toward me. I met her half way, while being yelled at by my former teachers that I wasn't supposed to go down there.

"Comrade, you made it! How? I thought you said Dad couldn't make it happen." She said as she launched herself at me.

I took her into my arms, burying my nose into her hair and breathing deeply. I have missed her.

"Don't you know your father at all, he can make anything happen. Now, get back to your seat before we get in trouble." I kissed her quickly and let her go. I made my way back up the stands, and we waited for it to end.

The students walked outside to the front courtyard where they could meet with their families and take pictures. I found my family and was talking with them when someone latched onto my back. I could smell the strawberry and jasmine scent coming from her hair.

I moved her around so she was now clinging to my chest, legs wrapped around my waist and hands already running through my hair. I looked into her beautiful brown eyes for a mere moment before I kissed her. I was so proud of her, she graduated in the top 20 percent of her class and overcame so many obstacles and trials to get here.

"Congratulations, Milaya. I am beyond proud of you, my love."

"Thank you, Dimitri. I still can't believe you are here. Dad, how did you manage this?"

"I had one last favor, I had been saving it for emergencies. I thought this qualified." Abe opened his arms to her. "Congratulations, Kizim."

"Thank You, Baba." Rose said as she now clung to her father.

"By the way, when you get home tonight, you need to pack a bag for a week, you too, Viktoria." Abe said.

"Where are we going, don't you guys have games all weekend?"

"Yes, but I have a graduation present for the two of you. So, enjoy tonight, but be ready to go at five, the plane takes off at six."

"Do you know anything about this?" Rose asked me.

"Nothing at all, we didn't even know we were going to make it here, until 5 hours ago."

I was glad Abe had planned something for Rose and Viktoria, better even, they would be in Florida. So after the weekend was over, we could spend time with them. We piled into Rose's Challenger, she let me drive and her and Vika squeezed in the back. Only bad thing about a coupe, Ivan and I were too tall, so the girls got shoved in the backseat.

"So, you really have no idea what he has planned?" Rose asked.

"None. Though I won't complain, we don't have a game the week after the scrimmage, so we can take that time and hang out in Florida with you two."

"I am simply not complaining, because you know there would be no other way for me to go if Abe wasn't floating the bill." Vika jumped in. "I have never been able to leave the state, so this will be awesome!"

"What were your plans for the night, girls?" Ivan asked.

Rose hung her head down, she looked embarrassed about something?

"What's wrong, Roza?"

"Well, this is going to sound lame, but since we thought you wouldn't be here, Vika and I were going to go to my house and watch the Notebook and eat ice cream."

"What? No graduation party, come on Rose, you love a good party." Ivan said.

Rose stiffened a little, Ivan realized just then what I already had. She didn't want to go to any parties, not only did she have the memory of the last party she went to, but she couldn't relax out of fear.

"Sorry Rose, I wasn't thinking." Ivan apologized, "I agree, we go home and watch movies, but can we pick something other than the Notebook?"

We all laughed. Honestly, I didn't care what played on the TV, all I cared about was having Rose by my side and in my arms. We didn't need to talk or make out, hell even touch. I just wanted to be near her, I hate being away for so long. I know it will only get worse when she goes to college and I try my hand at a Major League contract. So I would cherish every small moment we got while we could.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

Pavel and I headed back to our home, while Dimitri and Ivan took off with the girls. I didn't know what they had planned for the night, but all I wanted was to get home and see Janine. I know things have still been strained between her and Rose, but I didn't even see her at the graduation. I want to know exactly what is going on. I don't care how bad things are, you shouldn't miss one of the biggest moments in your only child's life.

"So what do you have planned for the kids?" Pavel asked pulling me out of my thoughts.

"I booked them rooms at The Henderson resort in Destin. The girls will stay with us until the scrimmages are over, then all of them will head up there Sunday."

I thought long and hard about what to get Rose for graduation. She already has all the material things a 18 year old could want. The one thing she didn't have, rather hasn't had, is time with her boyfriend. I know it has been hard on both of them, all of them, so I figured a week in pampered luxury would be nice.

The resort sits right on the beach, has a spa, bars and restaurants all on site. Each couple will have a King Spa Suite, with full spa access added onto the rooms. I know the girls will enjoy that, but I hope the guys help themselves to a massage as well. No expense will be spared for them.

"I'm sure they will love that. They deserve a break, all of them."

"I agree, the guys have been working so hard, I decided to give the team the next week off."

"Are you sure that is a good idea, the series is just around the corner."

"The way I see it, a little relaxation can go along way. If they practice too much, they will stress themselves out. We need them to clear their heads and get ready. The playoffs will not be easy, I want them to be focused. Plus, it would not be fair that Ivan and Dimitri get a week off and the rest are steady practicing."

"You know, you actually make a really good coach. What do you plan to do after this season?"

"I don't know, yet. I was thinking about sticking around. I find I am really liking influencing the young minds of these men."

"Just don't corrupt them." he laughed.

"Ah, yes, I shall try not to, but I am Abe Mazur, they will be corrupted just a bit."

We were both laughing as we pulled into the driveway. All of the lights in the house were off, strange. It was only 8pm, she shouldn't be asleep yet. I pulled out my keys that haven't been used in the last two months and walked through the front door.

"Janine? Are you home?", no answer. "Janine, where are you?", still no answer.

I walked into the living room, everything seemed to be in order, nothing has moved since the last time I had seen it. Continuing through the house, making my way to the kitchen, flipping on the lights. In the middle of the island were two folded pieces of paper. One with Rose's name, the other with mine, the house key lay next to them.

 _Dear Abe, I know this may seem sudden, but I need to get away for awhile. I need to find myself again. Things with Rose have never been this bad before. Two years ago, she was my angel, my everything and I loved her more than life. Over the last two years, we have grown apart, I feel I have failed as a mother. Now that she has graduated and is 18, she doesn't need me anymore. She hasn't needed me in a long time. I know it is my fault for missing out on the early years and having her resent me for it, but I never stopped loving her. She just can't see that when her vision is clouded by the bad memories. I didn't react the right way when she was struggling after Dimitri left, or the Jesse incident. I will never be able to take my words and choices back, but I can try to make up for it. I will return when I feel I have found myself again and can be the mother Rose needs. I love you, I hope you understand why I must do this. You have always been the best thing to ever happen in my life, because of you, I had everything I could ever wish for. I messed that up, but I will do everything I can to fix it. Take care of our baby, she needs her Baba. I love you, Ibrahim. Always. Janine._

I was in complete shock, she left. How could she just up and leave? I understand what she said here, but I don't understand how leaving will fix anything. Rose will feel more abandoned than ever. I was so caught up in reading the letter and my mind running a hundred miles a minute, I didn't hear Rose, Dimitri, Ivan and Viktoria come in.

I looked up and saw my little girl's eyes, filling with tears.

"She left, didn't she?" her bottom lip quivered as she spoke. My heart was breaking for her. How can I confirm that her mother has yet again, left her and it wasn't work that took her away, she left on her own will.

"Yes, Kizim. There's a letter for you, too." I handed her the folded paper. She ripped it in half and threw it away, taking off up the stairs. I can't say that I blame her.

"Give her time, Dimitri. Don't go up just yet. Let her process."

"What did she say to you?" he asked pointing at the letter I was still holding.

"That she needed to find herself. Things have been really bad between her and Rose, she feels like she keeps failing as a mother and needed time to figure herself out."

"Well, she got one thing right. She did fail." he took a deep breath, "If you will excuse me, I am going to go check on Roza. Ivan, Vika if you want to stay, you are more than welcome, or you guys can go do something."

"I think we should stay, she will need her friends." Vika said, "I do need to run home though and pack for tomorrow. It shouldn't take long."

"I am so sorry, all of you. I didn't know this was coming, if I had any idea I would have thought of something to tell her. I didn't mean for your night to be ruined." I said.

Dimitri nodded before heading up to Rose, Ivan and Vika just gave me a sad look as they headed to her house. I felt horrible, tonight was supposed to be a great night for the girls. They finished high school and were now free to the world.

"It's not your fault, Abe." Pavel said, "Rose will be okay, she just needs time. Tomorrow we will go back to Florida and we can all relax and leave this here."

"I hope your right.", I cleared my throat, "Excuse me, I think I will head to bed now. Good night."

I walked to my room, passing Rose's I could hear her crying, asking Dimitri why her mother doesn't love her. My heart shattered in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to go in there and hold her. Like I used to do when she was a little girl. _She's not a little girl anymore, Abe. She has another man to comfort her and take care of her. She has grown up._ My heart broke even more.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

How could she, how could she just up and leave, _again!_ Did she even see me graduate, or was that to much for her? I can't understand why she would abandon me. Does she not love me, did I do to many bad things to make her want to leave? I know the last two years haven't been the best, but isn't a mother supposed to stand by her children. Shouldn't she have been there for me instead of blaming me for everything that happened?

"Roza, can I come in?" Dimitri asked as he knocked on the door. I wiped my eyes as best as I could.

"Please." I couldn't help the desperation in my voice. I wanted nothing more than him to be here with me. Comfort me and tell me he loves me.

"I am so sorry, Roza."

"What are you sorry for, you didn't do anything."

"No, I didn't, but I also can't take away the pain. I wish I could."

"I just don't understand. Why doesn't she love me, Dimitri?"

"I am sure she does, she just doesn't know how to show it. She may think she is doing the right thing, but she doesn't see how much this is hurting you."

"You got that right, she doesn't know anything. She has never been there for me, she has only showed she cared a handful of times in my life. When I needed her the most, she blamed me, wrote me off as a disappointment and a failure. She doesn't love me. What did I ever do to deserve that?"

"You didn't do anything, moya lyubov'. You are the most amazing person I have ever met, one day she will see that and regret leaving. Right now, you need to think about all the people you have around you that do love you. Your dad, your friends, my family and me. There are so many people that love you, Roza."

"But I want _her_ to love me. I want _her_ to show it. Is that too much to ask?" I was sobbing uncontrollably now, my whole body was shaking and I could hardly breathe. Dimitri stopped talking and just held me, whispering Russian nothings in my ear. I always love when he does that, I can't understand a word he is saying, well most words, but it is so calming.

After a while I was finally calming down, breathing became easier, but my heart was still hurting. Dimitri pulled back to look at me. I am sure I looked hideous right now, I am not a pretty crier. He gently wiped the tears from my face and just stared into my eyes. His held such love and sadness for me. I almost started crying again. He brought his lips to mine in the softest, sweetest kiss I think he has ever given me. It was a kiss to tell me he loves me, that no matter what, he would always be there, even if others weren't.

"How about I run you a hot bath and then we watch a stupid movie with Ivan and Vika?"

"That sounds like heaven." he got up and headed for the bathroom, "Comrade, thank you."

"Always My Roza, Always."

I soaked in the bath until the water was cold, as I drained the bathtub and watched the water disappear, I felt at peace. Like all the bad that had happened today was washed down with the water. I dressed in a singlet and shorts before heading back down stairs to Dimitri. Ivan and Vika had returned from going to pack her bags and they were trying to find a movie to watch. We settled on "21 Jump Street" and laughed through the whole thing.

It was just what I needed. To laugh and forget my mother for the time being, besides, in the morning I was getting on a plane to Florida for a week in paradise with my man. I should be happy and enjoying this. A look at the clock told me it was later than I had thought, I still needed to pack.

"Dimitri, you want to help me get ready for tomorrow?"

"Sure. You guys staying here tonight or are you going to stay with Mama?" he asked Vika.

"We already said bye to everyone since we are leaving so early, so if it's okay, Rose, can we have the guest room?"

"Of course, you know where the extra blankets are right?"

She nodded, Dimitri and I took our leave to go and pack my suitcase.

"So, I assume I need to pack beach wear, but do I need to bring any dresses?"

"I would bring one or two, we may get a chance to go out for dinner."

I started going through my closet, picking out everything I could think I may need. I always hated packing, I would pack to much or too little. If it was a day or two trip, I was okay, but a week. So many things could happen, I wanted to be prepared.

Two suitcases later, I deemed myself done and crawled into bed. I molded to Dimitri's side and rested my head on his chest. He wrapped one arm around my waist, the other tucked behind his head. I was at peace with him, listing to the beat of his heart. It would take time for me to get over my mother leaving, again, but I know as long as I have my friends, my Baba and Dimitri, I had everything I needed, wanted.

"You know, one day we will be like this every night." I said.

"I can't wait, Roza. I love you, get some sleep, 5 am will be here before you know it."

He kissed my hair as I kissed his bare chest, I was asleep in seconds.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So I got some really depressing news today and I wanted to let you all know it may be a few days before I upload again. I need to take some time and figure some things out. I hope you all enjoyed this Chapter. Thank you for all the support in this story.

-Katarina


	25. Part 2: Chapter 11: It Will Rain

_**Thank you all for the kind words and thoughts in reviews and PMs. It really means a lot to me. I know you have been patient with me, so here is the next chapter. It will still be a extra day or so for the next one, but I couldn't keep you all waiting.**_

* * *

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 11: It Will Rain**_

 _ **APOV**_

My team played fantastic over the weekend, we only lost one game out of the five. I was proud to be leading these men to greatness. We gathered in the hotel conference room after Sunday's game. I had lunch set up for everyone and would be telling them they are all getting the next week off.

"Attention everyone." I called out as lunch wrapped up, " I just wanted to first say, I am proud of the accomplishments you have made this year. I know you had a rough start, going through three coaches in a season was not ideal, but you have still excelled. So, I want everyone to take some time off. You are not to step foot on a baseball field, or touch a ball, for the next five days. You have worked hard and deserve a little time to relax."

"Coach, the series starts in two weeks, we can't take time off, we need practice." Jackson said.

"You _need_ to relax and refocus. Boys, no amount of practice in the next two weeks is going to make you unbeatable. What will bring you close, is having the strength to go the distance when needed. To do that, you need to relax. You can take the week to go home and see your families, friends, or even just to sit on campus. The choice is up to you. If you need help to go home, let me know, I will help you. You will report back to campus by 10 pm on Friday. Practice will start back up Saturday and we will practice everyday, twice a day, till the series starts."

"Abe, are you sure this is a good idea? I really think we should still practice." Dimitri said.

"No, trust me, have I ever let you down?"

"No, but.."

"No buts, now, if everyone would think of what they want to do for the next week, again, if you want to go home and need assistance, let me know. Dimitri and Ivan, would you meet me in my room, please."

With that, I walked out of the room, Pavel at my side. "I told you. Are you sure this is the right thing? They know more about this than we do."

"They will all thank me later when they have championship rings. They need to have a little time off. They will come back refreshed and ready to take the bull by the horns and win."

We walked into our room, I had already packed my belongings, ready to leave as soon as I gave Dimitri and Ivan their packets. I had put together a folder with the hotel information, rental car, spa selections and a credit card each, with their names on them. I knew they would both reject using them if I handed it to them outright, but this way, I would already be on the plane by the time they opened it. A knock came to the door, Pavel let the boys in.

"Gentlemen, have a seat."

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Walking into Abe's room I could see he was already packed to leave. Two large manilla envelopes sat on the table, each with mine and Ivan's name.

"Are you finally going to fill us in on what you have planned for the girls?"

"What I have planned for all of you actually, here." He handed us each our envelopes. "Inside you will find everything you need for the week. All the information for where you are going and the means to get around. You _will not,_ refuse anything that is in there and _you will_ take this time to relax. No playing or even talking about baseball. You both need to take this time with the girls and have fun."

I went to open it and he stopped me, "Not yet, there will be a car out front in an hour. Go pack and meet with Rose and Viktoria, you may open them when the car arrives."

Ivan and I nodded, then Abe and Pavel took their leave.

"What do you think is in here?" Ivan asked.

'I am not sure, but you know, we can't refuse an order from him. Come on, let's go finish packing."

It didn't take us long to gather up the last of our things, we got most of it together last night, so it was only our overnight stuff left. I called Rose and had her and Vika come meet us in our room. We had to check out in 30 minutes and then the car would be here shortly after.

"So, what is in there?" Rose asked.

"We haven't opened them yet, Abe said we had to wait for the car."

"Screw that, open it, he will never know."

I looked at her for a moment, before giving in. She would have taken it and opened it for me. Inside I found the hotel reservation, "The Henderson - A Salamander Beach & Spa Resort", fancy, of course. The receipt for the rental car that is supposed to be dropped off to us, a Yukon Suv, very Abe. A credit card with the Mazur Enterprises logo on the top, I was surprised to see my name on it. This is what he meant when he said we can't refuse anything, he knew we wouldn't want to take them. Several papers on services at the spa, with a note, "Book something for the two of you." The last was another note, not for Rose, but for me.

 _I figured Rose would make you open this before the car arrived. Was I right? Enjoy the week, spare no expense. I mean it. I will check the cards to make sure you are using them. You all deserve a break. Have fun, but not too much, they are still minors you know. -Abe_

I laughed and looked to Ivan, he had all the same stuff in his, except for the note.

"Did he really give us credit cards?"

"Yupp, and he said he would be checking the account to make sure we are using them. So, I say, we carpi deiam on Mazur Enterprises account."

"He hasn't even given me a credit card, yet, you both have one. That is so not fair."

"You would bankrupt him, Roza." I chuckled. Just then the car pulled up outside. We loaded our bags and were off to Destin.

Pulling up to the resort, we were speechless. It sat right on the gulf beach front only a few hundred yards off the shore. From the outside, it looked like a normal condominium complex, five stories high, several buildings arranging in a L shape. The buildings surrounded the many pools and lounge areas of the resort, it was like something you see in a Sandals commercial. Three massive pools, an adult only area, fire pit, and a huge movie screen out on the lawn.

We made our way into the main lobby. The ceilings were vaulted with timber running boards holding the elaborate chandeliers. Huge bay windows off to the right with reading chairs facing the beach. Ivan and I checked in with our provided Mazur cards and got the room keys. We were both on the 4th floor, at opposite sides of the hall. Thank you Abe, I really didn't want to over hear anything coming from their room.

The room itself was the most amazing thing I have seen yet. A California King size bed sat in the middle, a sofa next to the balcony doors and two reading chairs across from that. The walls were a calm olive color, I could feel myself relaxing already.

"Comrade, check out this bathroom."

"Whoa, this is…."

"Unbelievable? I have to agree. Dad has out done himself."

The ensuite bathroom had a 7 foot long walk in shower, a two person garden tub, that sat in front of a "window" opening that faced the bedroom, I wasn't sure how I felt about that yet. A double vanity and a walk in wardrobe. It was bigger than my living room at Mama's.

Rose plopped down on the bed and started looking through the list of activities the resort offered.

"The spa looks amazing, they also have their own state park and there is a list of nearby excursions you can take. Dad is going to regret this, I want to do it all."

"Whatever you want, Roza. Your father said spare no expense, so that's what we will do. What do you want to do first?"

"Maybe just a trip down to the pool areas today. I'll call Viktoria and see what they are wanting to do, we can all hang out today, then go off tomorrow and do our own thing."

"Sounds good."

I started unpacking our suitcases, as Rose called my sister. I know Abe said to know think about or play baseball this week, but I couldn't stop. The series is around the corner and there will be a lot of tough teams to go against. I can't just take a whole week off and not work out or practice. I saw a gym on the way in, maybe me and Ivan can get a few good workouts in. Lord knows Rose and Vika will want to sleep in everyday, we could go in the morning before they notice were gone.

This week was supposed to be about Rose and Viktoria graduating, and celebrating their accomplishments. I felt selfish because I couldn't focus on just that. I needed to focus on the game, I needed to prepare for what was coming. Yet, here I am, in the beautiful resort, with my amazing girlfriend and I can't even enjoy it.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

"So, what do you think? Will they like it?"

"It's definitely appealing, are you sure Rose is going to want to move here though. What if she wants to go to college in Texas."

"She already told me that she wanted to be here with Dimitri and she wants to try and get a record deal. Plus, this way neither Dimitri or Ivan will have to live on campus anymore. There is plenty of room and it's only five miles from campus."

Since I decided to stick around and continue coaching after this year, I was going to buy a house out here. I was still keeping the house in Arlington though, I could never sell that house, it was Rose's childhood home. Hopefully one day, she will be raising her own children there. I always planned to gift her the house when she got married.

The house I was looking at was in the Forest Hill subdivision of Nashville, only five miles from the school, but just enough out of the city to be relaxing. Built in the 1950's it had an old meets modern style. Bay windows lining the front of the house, letting the light illuminate everything during the day. Two living spaces with vaulted ceilings and fireplaces and a study/library. The kitchen was equipped with all top of the line stainless steel appliances and a gas range. I know Pavel and Dimitri both like to cook, this would be heaven for them. The rustic look cabinets lined the walls and island, with a conversation breakfast bar facing out to the dining area. Five bedrooms, two of which were master suites with ensuite bathrooms and walk in wardrobes. Another full bathroom connected two of the smaller rooms, then the last room had its own bathroom across the hall. A half bath sat off the mud room, which held individual storage racks and hooks for five people.

The thing that caught my eye the most, was the personal gym that the previous owners were leaving all the equipment in. It rivalved any local gym, all state of the art machines as well as two flat screens on either end. Pavel was always keen on keeping in shape, and the boys would need to work out during the summers and off season as well. I am sure they would prefer to be able to do it at home.

The backyard held plenty of space for entertaining, with a built in fire pit and outdoor kitchen with a barbeque grill. The driveway wrapped from the street to the back of the house, where it met the four car garage. All of this was sitting on just over an acre lot. The price tag was a bit up there, even for me, but it was the perfect home for my family.

"I think they will love it." Pavel said.

"Sold. When can I sign the papers?" I asked the realtor.

"We can have the paperwork drawn up in a weeks time, move in will be two weeks from then." she said.

"Perfect. We will be finished with the Series by then."

With that settled, I had to figure out just how I was going to get these guys prepared for upcoming games. I had a lot of contacts in the country, I am sure I could get a few Major League guys to come pay a visit to help them out.

I made several phone calls after leaving the property and was able to get four guys to agree to come out next Sunday to spend a few days with my team. They need all the help they can get, I hope this works.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

The week was flying by, it was already Thursday evening and it felt like we just got here. Monday, we all took a swim with the dolphins. Tuesday, Dimitri and I got a couple massage, I added a facial and mani-pedi, while he took a detox session in the thermal pool. Ivan and Vika did theirs on Wednesday, while we spent the day on the beach. Tonight, the guys were going deep sea fishing and Vika and I were headed out to ladies night at one of the hotel bars. Even though we couldn't drink, well more her than me, we could still dance and have fun.

I was still not drinking anything out of an open container or taking anything from anyone. The Jesse incident was still fresh in my mind every time I went somewhere. Dimitri was very understanding with me though, he bought a pack of Dr. Pepper for me at the start of the week. When we would go to dinner, he would bring a couple so I wouldn't have to get something from the fountain. It was those little things that he did, that made me love him all the more. I hoped one day I would be able to live carefree again, but that day was not today.

As Vika and I were trying to figure out exactly what to wear tonight, my phone started ringing. One look at the screen, the world stopped. _Mom._ I hesitated, I didn't know what to say to her. I was still angry with her choices, but this week has been a great distraction. But what if she was hurt, or needed help getting back home, or something else happened. My internal battle was raging on and on, the phone stopped ringing. If something was really wrong, she would call again, if not, then I didn't have to worry.

"Who was that?" Vika asked coming out of the bathroom.

"My mother."

"Why didn't you answer?"

"I don't know what to say to her. I don't really have anything to say. She left, why would she be calling?" Did she want to apologize? Was she simply trying to act like a mother and check on me? Or did she want to know how I was doing? Too many questions were running through my head, the phone rang again, I answered.

"Hi Mom."

" _Rosemarie, how are you?"_

"I am okay, are you doing well?"

" _It could be better, did you read my letter."_

"No." I simply said, I didn't want to tell her I ripped it up in anger and threw it away.

" _Oh. Well, I know you must have been very upset, I can't say that I blame you."_

"What did it say?"

" _I just wanted you to know, it was nothing you did. I chose to take a step back and evaluate the way I was living my life. Mainly in my relationship with you. I know I failed you as a mother, both as a child and as a teenager. I am sorry for that, but I know sorry doesn't fix anything. I want you to be happy and I thought giving you time and space would help."_

"You could have _talked_ to me, not just ran off without even saying goodbye to my face." I was getting angry now. Of course she failed me, but how would leaving without saying anything help that. She had to have known it would only make things worse.

" _I understand I didn't go about it the right way. Again, I am sorry, Rosemarie. If you never believe another word I tell you, believe that. I am sorry and I do love you more than you will ever know."_

"You have a funny way of showing it." I mumbled. Her telling me that she loved me was all I ever wanted, but when she said it, I couldn't bring myself to believe her words. Actions have always spoken louder than meer words, her actions tell me she hates me.

" _I know, I know." She sighed, "Well, I won't keep you any longer. I hope you are having a great week in Florida.", she paused for a moment. "I love you, Rose. I'm sorry."_

With that, she disconnected the phone. I sat there, shell shocked for a moment. First, how did she know I was in Florida, Dad didn't tell anyone about the trip. He must have talked to her recently. Second, she called me Rose. Never, I mean never has she called me Rose.

I was no longer in the mood to go out, but Vika convinced me it would be fun. She was proven wrong in the first hour, when we couldn't even enjoy dancing because of the guys that kept flirting with us. So, we went back to my room to watch movies and order room service. Dimitri and Ivan got back about 2 hours later, Dimitri was laughing at Ivan expense for something.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Go ahead, tell 'em Ivan." Dimitri said, still laughing.

"It was not _funny_! Don't you understand I could have lost an arm or something. That shark was huge!"

"Wait, shark?" Vika exclaimed, "Are you okay, did you get bit?" She was freaking out, which only made Dimitri laugh harder.

"Only if you count the bite his ass got as he fell backwards screaming like a five year old girl."

I had to giggle, Ivan prided himself on being the tough macho guy. Seeing him scream like that, I would have laughed too.

"I did not! Don't listen to him, I sounded like a ten year old girl!"

"You're not helping your case, Ivan.", now I was laughing. "So, what happened, exactly."

"Ivan had a bite on his line, so the instructor was helping him reel it in. It got about a foot away, jumped out of the water and landed on the boat. The instructor wasn't shaken at all, so Ivan stepped forward to try and pick up his "fish", when we both realized it was a baby tiger shark."

"That was no baby! It was enormous, like six feet long and its mouth was bigger than my head!"

"It was three feet long and could barely open its mouth."

Viktoria and I looked at eachother, then back to the guys and busted out laughing. I would have paid to see Ivan face then. Ivan, however at this point, was not happy about our reactions to his terrifying experience.

"I am going to bed, good night!" he stomped out of our room.

We continued to laugh, while Dimitri filled us in on the other details of their trip. Shortly after, Vika got up to head back to her room. Tomorrow we would all be going out on a sunrise catamaran sail, before we had to drive back to Tampa for our flight.

I filled Dimitri in on our excitement of the night. Surprisingly, he didn't get angry over the random men flirting with us. I also told him about the phone call with my mother.

"Maybe she is putting the ball in your court now, letting you know she has her phone and is willing to talk, but leaving it open for you to contact her."

"I just can't right now, I want to, kind of, but, I want to handle some things of my own first."

"Then do so. She can wait, you need to take care of you. Speaking of which, what's going to happen now? Have you figured out what you want to do? College? Take a year off?"

"Well, I actually don't want to go to college, at all." I had to put my hand up to stop him, I knew he was going to freak out over this. "I will go, if my first plan doesn't work, but I have no idea what I would major in."

"What is this first plan?"

"I want to be a singer. I have been writing songs since you left, it helped me cope. Dad bought me some recording equipment and I have fifteen songs recorded to send to the labels in Nashville." I waited to hear his response. He didn't say anything for a while.

"Wow…" he finally managed, "Are you sure that is what you want? You do know if you become a singer, that is just going to make us be apart even more."

"So you can leave and chase your dreams, but I can't. Wow, that's fair, Comrade!" That really pissed me off, how can he even say that. He is chasing his dream that will take him away for god knows how long, but I can't chase mine.

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Rose. I was just simply saying it's going to mean more time apart." he defended. His tone still calm, he could always keep a level head, not me.

"No, you said it loud and clear. You questioned me on what I want, but I have _never_ questioned your choices. I have pushed you to go after what you want, why can't you do that for me?"

"Come on, Roza. You know I will always support you." he looked pained, sad, now. I wasn't having that. After dealing with my mother, the douche bag guys in the bar, now this, I was done for today.

"Well, you sure are showing it in a shitty way." I stood up and headed for the door. "I will see you later, don't wait up."

He called after me as I opened the door and stepped out into the hall. I continued to walk away, not looking back as I heard the door open. " _Don't Follow ME!_ "

I got in the elevator and headed down to the bottom floor. Maybe a nice sit by the pool would help me calm down. I may have overreacted to his words, but after everything I dealt with tonight, that pushed me over the edge. My Hathaway side was still there, trying to come out everyday. Something else to blame my mother for.

I found a empty lawn chair next to the heated pool. It was still warm out, around 75 degrees and the breeze was gentle. I laid back and took in the stars, feeling the overwhelming peace I always had when I looked at them.

"Are you, okay?" a voice startled me out of my tranquility. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He put his hands up.

"No, you're okay. I was just lost in thought, that's all."

"I'm Ben," he reached out his hand, I hesitated before shaking it. "So, are you? You look like you were crying."

I put my hand up to my cheeks to find them wet, I didn't even notice I was crying. "Yea, I just had a disagreement with my boyfriend is all. It's been a long night. I am Rose, by the way."

"Do you want to talk about it? I know you don't know me, but I am a great listener."

I looked at him for a moment, he reminded me of Adrian. That kind handsome face, true genuine soul, that would be your best friend in two minutes. He was tall, not Dimitri tall, but easily six foot. He wore a tight tank top and board shorts, leaving his muscular chest concealed, but at the same time, you could see how defined his body was. Deep tan across his arms and legs, but his shoulders were pasty white, farmers tan, I believed it was called. Dark brown hair, cut short on the sides and a little longer on top, with deep blue eyes that would rival the ocean. I had to admit, he was good looking, not Russian God good looking, but attractive.

"Well," I didn't know how much to say, or if I really should say anything. I looked at his smile again, "He wants to be a Major League baseball player, it's been his dream forever. I want to be a singer, I write and record my own songs. I told him about it tonight and the first thing he said was, if I went that route, we would be apart longer. I expected a "that's great" or a "I am proud of you", not a put down about us being apart. We have been best friends since we were kids and dating for the last five years. I know that us both chasing after our dreams will mean distance at times, but shouldn't we do it anyway. Who knows if we will have another chance, life is short, you know. Everything can change in a mere blink of an eye."

He sat there listening to me rant, I didn't mean to tell him all that, but once I started, I couldn't stop.

"Sorry if this is blunt, but it sounds like he is insecure in the relationship." he said.

"What do you mean?"

"He knows that you going off will open your doors to a lot of opportunity. Just like you know the same for him, right?" I nodded with my head down. "Maybe he is scared that once you venture out into the world, you won't want him anymore. He will be replaced by the guy that can take the ride with you."

What he said made sense, that's exactly how I felt when Dimitri left for college, but we managed. Even if I had a rough time at home, we were still together, still happy. Right? I pondered what Ben had said for a minute before responding.

"We have already been dealing with that though. He is two years older than me and has been in college. I worried all the time he would find someone better, even after he gave me a promise ring." I looked down at my right hand as I continued, spinning the ring on my finger, "We have been through hell and back in the last two years being apart. I had some really bad days, really bad, but we are still together. Can't he see that, after everything we have been through, that I love him and would always choose him?"

"I can't answer that for you. Simply because I don't know either of you, but if I had to guess, I would say he should. Maybe he just wishes things could be different, that he didn't have to leave in order to be what he wants."

Ben's voice trailed off toward the end. He didn't sound like he was talking to me anymore, rather, talking to himself.

"Who did you leave behind?" I asked in a soft tone, reaching out to rest my hand on his folded ones.

"She was my wife, Sarah. We dated from freshman year till graduation. I married her right before I left for basic training. After two tours overseas, she said she couldn't handle it anymore. She moved on." A silent tear fell from his eyes, he was still heart broken.

"How long ago?"

"A year. She remarried last month, that's why I am here. My buddies said I needed to get away from everything."

"I am sorry. I can imagine how you must feel, if Dimitri did that to me, well I wouldn't take it so well, to put it simply."

"I am 24 and have been married and divorced, take it from me, fight for the one you love. Never give up, if it is what you truly want."

"But how can I give up my dreams, I would never ask him to."

"I am not saying give up your dreams, or ask him to. Just never stop fighting. It will be the biggest regret of your life if you do."

"Thank you."

We chatted for another two hours, I hadn't realized we had been here for so long. Ben was truly a genuine guy and I felt for his loss, I understand the pain he was feeling. I felt I could connect with him in a way I couldn't with Lissa or Viktoria. He understood the things I have been through. By the time we said goodbye, we had laughed and cried and laughed to the point we were crying. He told me more about himself, he grew up in a little town in Montana, with a younger brother and sister. Thought the only way out was to join the Military, like his father had. He has lost friends in battle and carries a lot of scars from his time in the service. We exchanged phone numbers before departing.

"If you ever just need someone to talk to, feel free to text or call me. You shouldn't have to go through this alone." I told him. I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as I walked back to the room.

I realized then, I left my key inside. I reached for my phone to call Dimitri, it rang to voicemail. I guess he really did fall asleep. When I reached the room, I knocked several times, no answer. Man, he must be knocked out. He has always been a light sleeper, unless he was drunk. I really hoped he was just exhausted and didn't turn to drinking because of our argument. I walked down the hall to the service phone by the elevator and called the front desk. The steward came up with a master key and let me into the room. I closed the door and looked at the bed.

It was empty.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So, what are your thoughts on Ben? Like him, Hate him, let me know. I will try to update the next chapter in a day or two, but right now I can make no promises. As always, leave your thoughts on a review. Thanks lovelies.


	26. Pt 2: Ch 12: A Drop In the Ocean

_**So...the title of this chapter really has nothing to do with it, well maybe somewhat, but I have had this song stuck in my head for weeks now, I absolutely love it. You should check it out. It's by Ron Pope. Anyways, enjoy today's chapter!**_

 ** _As always, please review and share your thoughts! Lets shoot for 80 for this chapter, i know you all have it in you._**

 _ **Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Ben, I will proudly own him.**_

* * *

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 12: A Drop In The Ocean**_

 _ **DPOV**_

This week has been amazing, everyday with Rose was better than the one before. The best part, I was able to actually stop thinking about baseball and the upcoming games. I was so distracted by being here, I couldn't be bothered to worry about what was still to come.

After the fishing incident with Ivan, I was in a great mood. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. It was nice to just hang out with my best friend and do something random. I was not a fisher by any means, but it sounded like something you should try once in life.

When we got back, however, my mood plummeted, rapidly. I had no idea Rose wanted to be a singer, I mean, I know she is amazing at it, but I didn't know she had already started recording and had made plans for a career. I was shocked to say the least and I guess it came off the wrong way. When she walked away, my heart broke and I wanted to go after her.

She yelled at me not to follow her, but I couldn't just let her wander around. I would worry myself sick if I just let her go off in the middle of the night. So I waited about five minutes after I heard the elevator ding for the bottom floor. If I knew my Roza as well as I hoped, she would be somewhere she could see the stars. She always like to look up at them when she was upset.

I walked around the pools for about ten minutes before I spotted her. She was talking to some guy. I couldn't see much, his back was to me, but I could see her. The emotions running on her face spoke volumes. There was anger, sadness, love and fear. I understood the anger and the love, but why sadness and fear. Well, maybe I could understand why she was sad, but fear, that I couldn't comprehend at all.

I watched them for several minutes, then she reached out to him, laying her hand on his. What was going on? She doesn't even know this guy and she is talking to him, in the middle of the night, in a secluded area, and she's touching him! My vision tinged in red. _Calm down, calm down, it's probably not what you are thinking, Dimitri,_ I tried to reason myself.

I moved further into the shadows, trying my hardest for her not to see me, that would only make her more upset. After almost an hour of watching them, they were now laughing like hyenas, I walked away. _Obviously, she is fine without you. That's why she wants to leave, she doesn't need you._ The voice in the back of my mind was really pissing me off. She wouldn't just run off with the first guy she met, she wasn't like that. Besides, we just had a disagreement, we were still together, nothing has changed. We both just need to clear our heads and discuss our plans after we have had some sleep.

My mind however, was still running, there was no sleep in my future. I headed to the gym, desperate for some type of physical exertion that would occupy my mind for a while. I ran on the treadmill for five miles, then moved to the punching bag. I haven't resorted to that in a very long time, since I beat my father. I had taken boxing and martial arts as a kid. I was really good, too, but I poured my focus into baseball in my teenage years. As my fist made contact with the bag the first time, I felt an overwhelming power. Something I haven't felt since I was thirteen.

Again and again I hit the bag, making it swing back and forth. Throwing in a few combo hits here and there, I was starting to feel better. I let out all my pent up anger at the bag. Anger for making Roza upset and having her walk away. Anger for never being able to beat the shit out of Jesse for what he did. Anger for not being there for Roza while she battled her demons. Anger. That was all I could feel, my vision started to blur and I pushed harder. I started kicking out, going full battle mode on the enemies in my life.

Is this the beginning of the end? Will we be able to make it another year, two or five? How long will she stick around before finally growing tired of waiting for me? Does she want to go away and see what else the world offers, who else is out there? I can't lose her, but if that is what she chooses I will have to let her go. I never wanted to hold her back or give anything up, but could I walk away from the only woman I will ever love?

I have no idea how long I was at it for, I just kept going and going. Until I saw nothing,thought nothing, I blacked out.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

Where was he? Did he leave? No, he couldn't have, the keys to the SUV are here. His room key is gone, so he planned on returning from where ever he was. I pocketed my key and headed for Ivan and Vika's room, maybe he went to talk to his sister and best friend.

It took three rounds of knocking before Ivan finally opened the door. He was in his boxers and the lights were off in the room, they had been sleeping.

"Rose, what's wrong?"

"Dimitri and I got into an argument, have you seen him? He's not in our room."

"No, he never came by. If he was upset he is probably in the gym. You know he likes to run when he gets mad."

"I was headed there next, I was just hoping maybe he was with you guys. Sorry to wake you."

"It's okay, text me when you find him. Please."

"Yeah." I walked back down the hall and got back in the elevator.

As I approached the gym, I couldn't hear anything. If he was running, I would have heard it, but it was eerily quiet. Opening the gym door, my heart broke, Dimitri was in the fetal position on the ground. He must have really been upset. As I got closer, my heart almost stopped. There was blood and a lot of it.

"Dimitri! Dimitri, Wake up, baby!" I yelled for him, shaking his shoulder, he didn't respond.

I called Ivan and told him to get me some help, then I called 9-1-1.

" _9-1-1, Where is your emergency?"_

"Hi, my name is Rose Mazur and I am at the Henderson Resort, in the gym. My boyfriend is bleeding and he is not responding. Please help me."

" _Remain calm ma'am, I am getting help sent that way. Can you check his breathing? Make sure he is on his back with his head tilted back slightly."_

"Okay." I rolled Dimitri onto his back, glad to find his chest rising and falling evenly, checking his pulse, it was fast, really fast. "He is breathing okay, his pulse is a really fast though. He was working out, so maybe he hasn't been like this long."

" _Okay, You're doing great, Rose, just keep an eye on him for me okay. Let me know if anything changes. You did say he was bleeding, where from?"_

"His hands, he was using the punching bag."

He had to have been really mad for this to happen. Dimitri was always the calm, rational one. How could he be so angry to cause this much damage to himself and pass out. Ivan ran into the gym as I was having my internal battle. He took one look at Dimitri and his eyes showed recognition, he has seen this before.

"Ivan, do you know what happened?"

"I am guessing that he let out everything he has been holding back. I haven't seen this happen since we were teens."

The paramedics arrived just then and loaded him onto a stretcher. Ivan and I went back to get Viktoria and the keys to the car and followed the ambulance to the hospital. I called my Dad on the way to let him know what was going on. He offered to fly down right away, but I told him that it wasn't necessary right now. We were supposed to be on a plane in sixteen hours headed back to Tennessee anyways. I prayed Dimitri would wake up soon and there would be no lasting damage to him.

We waited for four hours, before I finally told Ivan to take Vika back to the hotel and try to catch some sleep. I would call them as soon as he woke up.

I sat next to his bed for another ten minutes, holding his hand and praying to whoever would listen. I was upset over multiple things right now, but my anger diminished as I looked at his face. He always looked so peaceful when he slept, no worries or cares about anything. I knew I would have to tell him about meeting Ben last night. I wasn't sure how he would take that, but hopefully once I explain why, he will be okay. I love him, no one else, one day he will completely understand that and we won't have these stupid fights.

I still couldn't comprehend why I let his words affect me so much. I knew in my heart he would never ask me to give up my dreams, that wasn't what he was trying to say. I did throw new information at him, he just didn't know how to react. But with my mother calling and everything, I guess I couldn't think straight. Just as I thought last night, I overreacted to his words and blew everything out of proportion. This is all my fault, I should have stayed and talked to him, I should have heard him out.

"Comrade, I am so sorry. I love you, you have to know that. Please, wake up so I can tell you again and again."

I squeezed into his side, resting my head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I felt heavy, something was weighing down my right side. I opened my eyes, only to shut them immediately after, damn that light is bright. My throat felt rough and dry and my head was killing me. I shifted a little, trying to figure out what had my right side feeling so much heavier than my left. Something moved and the weight was gone. It was a body, Roza's body, I could smell her shampoo.

"Comrade, are you awake?"

"Ro...wa…." I couldn't talk, my voice was hoarse and I was so thirsty.

I felt something touch my lips, "Drink, slowly." she said.

I swear that water came from Jesus himself, because it was a sweet as wine right now. I tried to open my eyes again, slower this time. The bright lights hit me full force and I had to keep blinking. Finally, they adjusted and I looked into the brown depths of the woman I love.

"Roza, what happened?"

"I found you passed out on the gym floor. Your hands split and bleeding." She spoke so soft, I almost didn't hear her.

I tried to remember. I remembered fighting with Rose, her leaving and following her, even though she didn't know it. Seeing her talking to some guy, then going to the gym. The anger. My worrying thoughts. Punching and kicking the bag as if it would eliminate all the evil in my life.

"I was mad, really mad, I must have lost it for a minute. I remember using the punching bag, then I couldn't see right and then nothing."

"You blacked out, I found you and called 9-1-1. They got you banaged up, put you on a drip to rehydrate you, that's why you passed out. You were severely dehydrated when we came in."

"I didn't mean to go that far. I am sorry, Rose."

"I am just glad you are okay."

"No, I am sorry for arguing with you." she put a hand up.

"We can talk about that later. Right now, I need to get the Doctor to come look at you. Then we need to get you back to the hotel, we had to cancel the flight, we won't make it in time. Dad said, we can drive home or rebook and fly tomorrow." She leaned out the door to tell the nurse I was awake.

I thought about it for a minute, it would take seven hours with traffic to drive back to Tampa. It would take the same amount of time to just drive to Nashville. So we may as well just head home. Oh, that was going to cost a fortune to drop the car off in another state.

"We might as well drive straight home, it's the same distance either way. It's going to cost your father a lot of money though."

"He doesn't care about the money, Dimitri. As he put it, "Make sure my son returns in one piece"."

Abe has been calling me his son for some time now, but it still makes me happy to hear him address me that way to other people, especially Rose. The Doctor walked in and Rose excused herself. Saying she needed to call Ivan and let him know I was up.

"How are we feeling, Mr. Belikov?"

"Better. I think I was just over tired and exhausted too much energy."

"You can say that again. I don't recommend doing that kind of workout, when you are already physically and mentally tired. Anyhow, you are free to go, we give you plenty of fluids and you just need to take it easy for a few days. Make sure you take in at least a gallon of water a day. Keep your hands cleaned and bandaged during the day, you can take them off when you sleep."

"Thank you, Doc."

Rose returned with some clothes and I got dressed. My other ones were in a plastic bag, blood and sweat soaked the fabric. I walked out to the waiting area and was attacked by Viktoria.

"Dimka, don't you _ever_ scare me like that again. Do you understand me!"

"I am sorry, Vika." I said, embracing my baby sister, I have always been closest to her. "You didn't tell Mama, right?"

She put her head down against my chest and stayed silent. Great, now I surely had a panicking mother to explain this to. She mumbled a "sorry" as she felt my body tense slightly.

"It's okay, I will call her when we get to the hotel."

With that, we took our leave from the hospital. The ride was quiet, no one was speaking of what had happened last night. I know Ivan and Viktoria had questions, that is, if Rose hadn't already told them about the fight. Thankfully, the drive was only about five minutes, I couldn't take the silence anymore.

Rose and I walked into our room and I fell straight onto the bed. I may have been asleep for the last ten hours, but it didn't feel that way. I was still exhausted. Rose walked around, packing up the last of our things. We were supposed to go on the catamaran sail this morning, I ruined that. Feeling my self loathing, she turned to me.

"Do you want to talk about it now, or are you going to sulk until we get home?"

"I don't even really know where to start. There is a million things running through my mind about what and how this happened."

"Start from the beginning, why were you so angry? I know we fought, I overreacted a bit, but I didn't think you were that upset."

"It wasn't the fight." I took a deep breath, to tell her why I got so upset, I had to tell her I did indeed follow her last night. "I saw you talking to some guy at the pool last night. You looked...happy. Before you yell at me for following you, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn't like the idea of you being out in the middle of the night, in a unfamiliar place."

"I'm not mad, I figured you would come after me, but I expected you to come and talk to me. When you didn't I thought you stayed in the room, or went to talk to Ivan."

"I was going to, but you were talking to that guy. I didn't know what to make of you laughing and being so, I don't know, at ease with him. I starting thinking, maybe you didn't want to be with me anymore. So I walked away and went to the gym. I let out all the anger and frustration I had been holding in since Jesse."

She came over to the bed, sitting beside me and taking my hand in her tiny one.

"The guy I was talking to, his name is Ben. He found me crying and asked if I was okay. I don't know why I talked to him so much, but he reminded me of Adrian and myself, a bit. So I told him about our fight and he told me about himself. We are actually a lot alike, he has had some bad times, just like I have. So we talked, that's it. I told him if he needs a friend, he can trust me. I know what it's like to go through the darkness alone." she was almost whispering by the end.

I wasn't feeling great about the fact that she confided in a complete stranger, but I can see why she did it. She felt a kindred spirit, someone who had or was dealing with some of the same things she was. Still, I wasn't okay with it, sure she had other male friends, but I have known them since childhood. This guy, I didn't know at all. I let it go for now though, we could talk about him later.

"I am sorry, Rose. I didn't mean to make you feel like I wanted you to give up your dreams for me. I just...I don't want to be apart anymore. This week has shown me how much I long for you when we're away from each other. I don't want to do that anymore, but it will happen, no matter what. Both of us have to chase our dreams, but we will make this work."

That I was sure of, we would make it work. She is my life, my light, my soulmate, I would do everything I can to make it work.

"I know we will. Now, help me get the last little bit together so we can go home."

I helped her finish and we walked down to the lobby, meeting Ivan and Vika. I went to go and get the SUV, when I returned, the guy from last night was talking to Rose.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

"Are you going to tell us what really happened?" Vika asked as Dimitri left to get the car.

"We had an argument last night, he followed me and saw me talking to a guy I met by the pool. He got angrier, so he went to the gym and over exhausted himself." I tried to roll over the details, they didn't need to know everything.

I was still feeling a bit down after talking with him. I know why he got mad, I can understand. If the roles had been reversed and I saw him talking to an attractive female, I would have been pissed to.

"Are you guys okay now?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah, we will be. We still need to talk about what is to come for both our futures, but for now we are okay."

I saw Ben walk into the lobby from the back entrance and called him over. I was glad I had seen him, I didn't tell him we were leaving today and I wanted to say goodbye.

"Hey Ben, these are my friends, Viktoria and Ivan." I said, they shared small waves in acknowledgement.

"Where is Dimitri? I was hoping I could meet him."

"He's getting the car. We are headed home today."

"Oh, so soon, we just met." he chuckled. "Is everything okay now?"

"Yes, thanks again."

"No problem, thanks to you, I actually called home this morning, I decided that is where I need to be."

"That's great! Just remember, I am available if you ever need to talk."

I looked over to Vika and Ivan, they were watching our exchange with a strange look on their faces. Vika rose one eyebrow the same way Dimitri does, I always hated they could do that and I couldn't. I just shook my head at her, I would tell her more about Ben later.

"I will.." Ben started, but was interrupted by Dimitri walking in the door.

I wish I could describe the look on his face, well both their faces. Dimitri looked a little green with jealousy, but was trying hard to hide it. Ben, well he looked almost like he had seen a ghost. I figured he didn't meet many people that could tower him, but Dimitri sure did. Plus the fact that he is built like a tank, didn't help. Dimitri walked over and put his arm around my waist and kissed my hair, possessive much, men.

"Dimitri, this is Ben. Ben, My boyfriend, Dimitri."

"So this is the lucky man. It's nice to meet you." Ben said, reaching out to shake Dimitri's hand.

He took it like the gentleman he was, even if he gave him a death glare while doing so. I elbowed him lightly and gave him a look of my own.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Ben. Thank you for looking out for _My Roza_ last night." again, men.

"No problem at all. She was great company in my own pity party." he laughed and I joined him.

"We should be getting on the road, it's a long drive home." Dimitri said.

I looked over to Ivan and Vika again, they were still watching us all, same looks on their faces.

"I will talk to you later, Ben. I hope you get better with being back home." I reached forward and gave him a half hug, like one gives to a sibling, just so Dimitri wouldn't get mad.

"You too, Rose. Thanks again.", he looked a little sad. I understood, he just made a friend that understands him and we are going our separate ways. We could text and call, but honestly, having someone that knows your situation nearby helps a lot.

As we walked out to the car, I took one last look back. Ben was still standing in the middle of the lobby, small smile on his face as he gave me a wave. I returned with a full smile of my own. Dimitri may not like that I made a male friend, but I was happy. He was really a great person, even if I had only met him yesterday. I could just feel it, me and him would be friends for a long time.


	27. Part 2: Chapter 13: Say Something

_**Part 2: Chapter 13: Say Something**_

 _ **DPOV**_

The drive home felt like it took twice as long, no one was talking. I let Ivan drive since he had actually got to sleep last night, while I was dozing in and out the whole time. I could hear Rose phone continuing to go off, no doubt texting Ben. I really wasn't sure how to feel about him, especially after meeting him. I am glad she had made another friend, but did it have to be a guy, a good looking guy at that.

By the time we got home, I wanted nothing more than to go straight to my dorm and sleep. It was around two a.m now, we had practice starting at six. Abe was dead set that we would be running two a days until the game. Ivan dropped the girls off at the rental house Abe had, then we headed home.

"What do we do with the car?" Ivan asked.

"Let Zemy handle it in the morning. I just want to sleep right now."

I walked in my room, dropped my bags and crashed on the bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I jolted out of bed when I felt freezing cold water hit my skin.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it!" Ivan laughed.

"You're a dick, do you know that?"

"Aww, you're so sweet, D. I love you too, man. Now get up, the Mob boss wants us at the field in fifteen."

I showered quickly and dressed for practice. We made it to the field just in time, Abe was just about to address the team. We took our spots on the grass toward the back of the group and waited.

"Good Morning Gentlemen, I trust we all had a relaxing week off?" he paused for a moment, I looked around at my teammates. It seemed everyone really did enjoy it, by the nodding and smiles everyone shared. I couldn't help but feel like crap. Sure, I enjoyed the beginning and middle of my week, but I could do the ending over.

"Now, I know we need to get ready for the Series, so I have called in some friends to help us out. Everyday this week, we will be practicing with a player from different Major League teams. They are here to help you, guide you and hopefully inspire you. First up, we have Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers."

I could have shit myself, did he really just say Joey Gallo, Rose is going to flip. I wonder if she knows he is here. He was a utility player, meaning he could play multiple positions. Mainly he was at first or third base, but in high school he was a pitcher. He also played left field at times, the guy was a monster, standing six foot five, 235 pounds. As we sat on the ground, he towered us, even though he was shorter than me, even just a little, he felt so much bigger than me. The way he carried himself made him seem larger than life.

"Good Morning guys, a little about myself for those that don't know, I am currently playing for the Rangers. First, Third and the occasional Left field, with a rare DH (designated hitter for pitchers, they rarely bat in the majors) here and there. In high school I was a pitcher, I could throw a hundred mile an hour fastball with dead accuracy everytime. I switched positions when I drafted to Texas and found that I was too good at batting to not be on the lineup." That was true, he had like 40 home runs last year and he was still young in the game. "Today, I would like to focus on batting. I have heard several of you are already well on your way with your current styles. I am not here to change or make you do anything, simply to provide some input and advice. Let's get started!"

We all got up and started our warm up routine. We ran five laps and did our cool down stretches. Abe and Joey had broken us down into two groups, the big hitters and those that needed a little more help. Joey went to the other group, while Abe took mine. I let the other guys into the cage first, making my way over to Abe.

"You didn't tell Rose he was here, did you?"

"No, Why?"

"She loves him, like more than she loves me."

Abe laughed, "Well, I guess having him over for dinner isn't a good idea."

"Oh, she would love that, but I don't know how he will feel about an 18 year old girl throwing herself at him." I said laughing. I could only imagine Rose's reaction to meeting him.

"We shall see, now, tell me son, how are you doing after your week?"

I knew this was coming, Rose told me she had called Abe. I looked at my healing hands and thought about what to say.

"It was amazing, I could have dealt without the events on the last day though."

"Yes, I heard that was not one of your finer moments."

"You can say that again."

"All I can say is, you know how she is. Let her do what she wants, it will be easier in the long run. You know how she feels about you, so don't doubt your relationship when she goes down her own path. It will ruin you both."

"I know. I never wanted her to give anything up for me, I was just shocked and didn't know what to say."

"Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all. You are still young, Dimitri, you will figure it out as you get older. Trust me on one thing though, when a Hathaway woman wants something, she will stop at nothing to get it."

I just nodded as he walked to help Jackson. I knew this, I knew she would never give up. I didn't want her to, I wanted her to do everything she could dream of. I just wanted to be there for the ride, by her side through everything. Maybe I should give up my dream and follow her. She would hate me if I did though, I'd lose either way.

My turn in the batting cage came up, I tried to let my thoughts go and focus on just the ball. It was easier said than done. I was making the hits every time, but they weren't going nearly as far as they should. It didn't help that each time the ball hit the bat, the vibrations to my hands hurt like a bitch. After about twenty, I couldn't take it anymore and stepped out.

"What's wrong?" Ivan asked.

"It hurts." I said, jestering to my busted hands. "I hope they heal before this weekend. I haven't even thrown yet, I don't know if it will effect my pitching too."

"Let me go gear up, Abe won't mind, we can try a few pitches and see how it goes."

"Sure."

Ivan headed toward the dug out and got suited up in his mask and guards. We tossed the ball lightly to warm up my arm. Nothing was hurting or causing me to mess up yet, so hopefully when I went full speed it wouldn't be bad.

I tried a few fastballs first, that was okay, a little pain but nothing I couldn't handle. The curve and change up hurt a bit more. The way I had to hold the ball pulled at the cuts, causing them to reopen just a bit.

"Damn it." I cursed in Russian. I always tried not to get upset on the field, if I did, I would speak in my native tongue, only Ivan, well Abe and Pavel now too, would know what I was saying.

"What is it?" Ivan asked, keeping to the switch in language.

"These damn cuts are opening, how are they going to heal if they open every time I throw!"

"Maybe see if Zemy has something that could help."

Abe must have heard us, he came over continuing to follow our language change.

"What is going on, Dimitri. I heard you across the field."

I told him the same thing I told Ivan. He took a look at my battered hands. We continued to speak in Russian, trying to figure out a way to help my hands heal. Joey walked over after a few minutes, a confused look on his face.

"Sorry, I am not trying to interrupt, I didn't recognize the language, but I saw you looking at your hands, I may have something that can help. Our trainer has this salve, it's like magic." He said handing me a tube of something that looked like lotion. "Put some on after morning practice and a good amount tonight when you go to bed, they should heal up in a day or so."

"Thank you." I was honestly a little star stuck. Actually standing here, talking to him. Wow!

"What language were you speaking, I have never heard anything like it."

"Russian. We're all from overseas."

"Ah, that explains the accent, but yours is different Abe."

"I am Turkish, but I speak many languages. Comes in handy when my players want to yell and cuss on my field." he gave me a pointed look.

"Sorry, it's better than saying it in english where everyone can understand me though."

We all laughed. "Well, Dimitri, put some of that on, it will help and lets see what you can do in the cage." Joey said.

Ivan and I took turns, Joey gave us a few pointers and it helped a lot. Morning practice ended and we would have to be back at three for our afternoon session. I took a shower when I got back to the dorm, put on some of the magic salve and called home. I hadn't called Mama yesterday, so I knew she was probably still worried.

I decided to facetime her, so she could see I was physically fine. Setting the phone up on the desk, I waited for her to pick up.

" _Dimka, you had me so worried! Why didn't you call sooner? Are you okay?"_ she always spoke Russian when it was just us talking. She knew it made me feel more at home. I was getting a lot of my native side today, but I didn't mind it one bit. I missed Russia and wanted to go back. One day I hope to take Rose, though we may never live there, I could handle visiting.

"Sorry Mama, yesterday was busy with packing and getting back home. I am fine, no lasting damage, just some cuts on my hands."

" _What happened? Vika only told me you and Rose had a fight?"_

I launched into the story for what felt like the hundredth time, it didn't get any easier either. By the end, I truly thought my mother was going to come through the phone at me. She has never yelled at me, and really she didn't now, but I felt like I was seven again and got caught eating a cookie before dinner.

" _You have to stop doing that, Dimka. Stop doubting your relationship, now. The more you do, the faster you will push her away."_

"I know, I never thought it would be this hard though."

" _Love is never easy, son, it is one of the hardest part of life. Giving someone the power to break you, that is never an easy thing to deal with. Trust her though, it will make things smoother."_

"I do trust her, I just don't trust everyone else. Can you blame me?"

" _No, but as long as you trust her, that is all that matters. Understood?"_

"Yes ma'am."

" _Good, now rest up before practice, I love you. Call again soon, okay?"_

"I will, love you too, Mama."

Disconnecting the call, I laid down to take a nap, these last few day really have worn me out.

Afternoon practice went much like this morning. My hands were already starting to feel better, that stuff really was magic. Abe had told me that he was indeed having Joey over to his house for dinner, Ivan and I were of course invited. The girls would be staying here until the series was over, then they would go back home until it was time for them to go to college, or in Rose case, move here.

As I got dressed for dinner, I couldn't help but think about the way Rose was going to react to meeting the one and only, Joey Gallo.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

"Kiz, Vika can you come down stairs please." Dad called.

"What's up, Baba?"

"We will be having a guest over for dinner tonight. Well, every night this week, actually. So, do you have anything appropriate to wear, or do you need to go shopping?"

I looked over at Viktoria and she gave me a slight shake of her head. We hadn't packed a lot of formal clothes when we left Texas. We had no idea where we were going or doing. A shopping trip was a definite need.

"Very well, here is your card, Rose." he handed me a Mazur Enterprises card.

"Nice to see I got one after all." I joked, "By the way, who will we be entertaining all week?"

"You will meet them when they get here, I have called some friends to help with practice. The boys will be here as well, so dress nicely."

I had no idea who my dad could have called in to help the guys, but if it meant we got to go shopping, I was okay with it. We hit several stores in the two hours we had and stopped for lunch before heading back.

"Are you going to tell me about this Ben guy?" she raised her brow.

"There isn't much to tell. After the fight with Dimitri, I went to the pool to calm down. Ben was walking by, noticed I was crying and asked if I was okay. We talked for a little while, I don't know why, but I felt I could trust him. He has been through some rough stuff, worse than I have, so we shared our stories."

"So, nothing is going on? You and Dimitri are staying together?"

"Of course we are, Vika. We have been through too much to throw it away over something so stupid."

"I know you love him, but the way Ben was looking at you, well it's the same way Dimitri looks at you. I know Ivan saw it too, so I am sure Dimitri did as well."

"We are just friends, we just met that night and talked for a couple hours, that's it. If he says or does something to make me think he wants more than that, I will tell him I can't stay friends with him. I won't risk my relationship for anything."

"Okay. I trust you, Rose, I know you would never hurt my brother intentionally. Just be careful, please."

I just nodded, why was everyone making a huge deal out of this. I didn't flirt with him or lead him on. I told him from the very beginning that I was with Dimitri and have been for several years, with no intention of changing that, ever. Ben understood, he isn't looking for a relationship, he needs a friend. I will be that friend as long as I can, we get each other, we can help one another. We have been texting a few times, mainly right after we left and talked for a few hours, he told me more about his ex wife and the things he was going through.

I promised myself to try to distance from him just a little bit, I didn't want Dimitri to be uncomfortable with it, but I also didn't want to give up a new friend.

We got back to the house as Dad and Pavel were leaving for afternoon practice. They would be home by six, giving Vika and I three hours to get ready. There was a note on the counter, Dad ordered from a chinese restaurant for dinner, they would drop it off at 5:45.

We were dressed and ready come 5:30. Vika went to set the table, while I got the serving bowls and plates ready for when the food got here. I had just finished putting the food on the table when Pavel and Dad walked in.

"Man, that smells amazing, I am starved." Pavel said.

"Did you guys have a good practice?" I asked.

"Yes, but our guest made us practice alongside the guys, said we needed more experience." Dad answered.

"I would have paid to see you guys playing with them. Go get showers, dinner is ready when the guys and guest get here.", man I sounded like a housewife.

They took off upstairs to get changed. Dimitri and Ivan showed up about ten minutes later. Vika and I kissed our men as they walked in the door. We were distracted by them, we, well I, didn't notice who was standing behind them. My jaw hit the floor and I couldn't move.

"Close your mouth, Rosie, you will catch flies." Ivan said.

I still couldn't move. Standing before me what the one and only, Joey Gallo. What in the hell? How did my father know him and why have I not been told about it! Joey actually chuckled at my reaction, Dimitri came over and had to push my jaw up to shut my mouth.

"I am sorry, I don't mean to stare, I am just like, your biggest fan!" I said, remembering how to talk.

"It's okay, it's nice to meet you, Rose. Your father and Dimitri have told me a lot about you." shaking my hand, then he turned toward Viktoria. "You must be Vika, Ivan will not shut up about you." he laughed. We joined him as Vika hit Ivan's arm.

"Can I hug you?" , I immediately put my head down, "Sorry, I am not trying to be a creeper or anything.", did I really just ask him that? I am totally fangirling right now, how embarrassing.

The next thing I knew, my feet were off the ground and I was spinning. Joey had picked me up and a massive hug and twirled me around. I was in heaven! I thought my face would break with how big of a smile I had.

Conversation was light throughout dinner, I had a bunch of questions for Joey, but I didn't want to bombard him. I was surprised when he asked if he could talk to me outside.

"I know you have a ton of questions, Dimitri had warned me you would. So, ask away."

I launched into the best game of 21 questions I have ever played. Everything from his favorite food, all the way to his greatest achievements. Leaving my most important ones for last.

"How do you deal with being on the road all the time, away from your girlfriend and family?"

"It is hard at times, I miss out on things like birthdays and weekend get togethers, but I am home for the major holidays. When I am on the road, I remember why I am doing this, to provide for my family and myself. Plus, I love the game, so I enjoy the fact that I get to play everyday and make money doing it. When I am home, I am home. One hundred percent. I spend every moment I can with my family, making as many memories with them as I can."

"Do you ever wish you didn't go that route?"

"Nope. I will never regret my decision to join the MLB. It has been the best experience in my life. My family has grown by fifty people, I have made friends that will last a lifetime. I travel to every state in the Country and get to meet a lot of amazing fans." he leaned his shoulder to bump mine. "I have been given a chance to make a difference, to inspire young people to dream big and never give up."

"Your still young though. What are your plans after the Majors?"

"Right now, I am not sure. I don't know how long I will play for. I have the option to go freelance in five years, or I could retire. I do know, when it is said and done, I want to travel the world. Ivan and Dimitri really have me wanting to visit Russia now, it sounds beautiful."

"They have a tendency to do that. All of our friends want to take a group trip because those two can never shut up about home."

"Can you blame them?"

"No, honestly, I can't wait to see it." my tone dropped a little bit.

Sensing my change Joey spoke up, "You know, even if he does go pro, you guys will be okay. After talking with him all day, I can see how much he cares for you. You can follow the team, or do your own thing, either way, y'all will be okay. Make the most of the time you have now, and when you are together during his time off."

"Thanks."

"No problem," he looked at his watch, "Well, I better get going, I have a late flight to catch back home and a game tomorrow. Take care of yourself Rose, I look forward to seeing you by Dimitri side when he signs a contract with us."

"I will be. Thanks, again. Have a safe trip." I said, giving him a side hug.

He stood and went back in the house to say his goodbyes, I stayed on the back porch. I was so glad I got to talk to him, not only because I love him and think he is amazing, but he helped me see that it is possible to make it. Talking to someone who is going through it and making it work was eye opening.

The next few days passed much the same, each night we had a different majors player over for dinner. Dimitri and Ivan were lucky, they got one on one time with them, talking and trading secrets of the game. No one was better than Gallo though, but of course, I am extremely biased.

I had only talked to Ben twice since we got back. He made it home and was already feeling better. I was glad to hear that. I told him about our upcoming trip for the playoffs and he wished our guys good luck, though, I didn't tell them, no need to add fuel to the fire before the biggest games of their lives.

It was now Thursday and we were all getting ready to head to Omaha, Nebraska, where the series would be played. Vika and I had to be on a seperate flight, since we weren't part of the team we couldn't get guaranteed seats. It was okay though, they needed to focus and we were distractions. Tomorrow is the Opening Day Ceremony, then the games start on Saturday. 64 teams will play for a shot at the final 8. Then they will have to go through double elimination to see who will play in the best of three Championship.

It was going to be a hard fight, but I know they are ready for it. Plus, we had a surprise for Dimitri and Ivan, that I know will boost them up.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

In case you can't tell, I am a huge Joey Gallo fan, he is my favorite player. Sadly, I don't own him either, one can dream though right? As always, leave your thoughts, Part 2 will be wrapping up after this with a long chapter. Let's hit 85 reviews before it goes up, that will make my day!


	28. Part 2: Chapter 14: Never Stop

_**Authors Note:**_

 _ **Thank You, Thank You, I can not say it enough. You are all so wonderful. All the favorites, follows and reviews. Thank you!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I only own the plot and the few players mentioned.**_

 _ **Part 2: Chapter 14: Never Stop**_

 _ **DPOV**_

The Opening Day Ceremony was pretty boring. They introduced all the teams, had a guest speaker, some guy I have never heard of, and did the first pitch. We received our schedules and were dismissed. The first part were single elimination games, meaning if we lost one, we were out. Our first game would be tomorrow morning at eight am.

Rose and Vika would be here soon, their flight got delayed so they couldn't make it to the ceremony. I had a feeling those two were up to something. I had caught them whispering the other night and couldn't make out what was being said, but they are being sneaky.

It was okay though, I had something up my own sleeve. I just prayed we would take the series so it doesn't backfire on me.

"Belikov, get over here!" Abe yelled. I guess I was lost in thought, I didn't hear or see my entire team get up and leave.

"Sorry." I made my way down the stands and over to the first base side of the field.

"Everyone is to get back to the hotel, lights out no later than nine. You will be up and ready at six am, pregame breakfast at 6:15 and warm up starts at 6:45. First pitch is at 8:00, any questions?" Abe said.

A round of "No Sirs" rang out and we all headed in seperate directions. Some of the guys wanted to hit the batting cages that were being opened to everyone. Others went straight back to the hotel. Ivan and I were headed to the airport to pick up Rose and Vika.

We waited near the baggage claim for them to come down. The airport wasn't huge, like Dallas, so it shouldn't take them long to get here from the gate. As we were waiting, I saw a flash of very familiar blonde hair. There was only one person I knew of that had hair that blonde. Lissa. I tried to catch a better look, but the girl disappeared. Maybe I was just missing home and my friends, or maybe this is what the girls have been hiding. With that thought leaving my head, I saw Rose coming down the stairs, Vika on her heels.

"Comrade! Are you ready for tomorrow?" Roza said as she jumped into my waiting arms.

"Now that you're here, I am ready for anything."

"Your such a sap, really, are you all ready?"

"Yes we are. The first game is at eight tomorrow. We will get updated for following games as we continue to play."

"That's awesome, I can't wait. It's been so long since I watched you play."

"You watched us play in Florida."

"Yeah, but that was just a scrimmage, the real games are much better." she had a glint in her eye. She always enjoyed watching us play, I think the tight pants are what held most of her appreciation for the game.

We grabbed the luggage and headed back to the hotel. All of us had our own rooms for our time here, Abe's doing of course. I was looking forward to spending a quite evening in with her. She was constantly texting someone and I was starting to get a little irritated.

"Who are you texting so much?" I raised my brow to her. She was holding her phone in a way I couldn't see the screen.

"Oh, just Lissa. She is bummed that Chris's team didn't make it. She wanted to be here with all of us."

I couldn't tell if she was lying, that's a first. I have always been able to tell, but right now, well it was like she telling just enough truth, that I couldn't read it from her face.

"Well, can you tell her good night so we can spend some time together?" I didn't like being pushy about her texting while we were together, but I devoted all my attention to her, she should be doing the same, right?

"Sure, let me just send her one last text and I am all yours, Comrade."

Yeah, one more text turned into about twenty. I got tired of waiting and rolled over in the bed and tried to fall asleep. I could still hear her phone going off for another five minutes. When it finally stopped she cuddled to my back and kissed my shoulder.

"What movie do you want to watch, I am up for a good comedy."

"I just want to sleep now, I have to be up really early." my tone may have come across a bit harsher than intended, but right now I didn't care.

"What's wrong?" she asked, moving away from me.

"I just wanted a quiet night in with you, but you are too busy texting Lissa or whoever. Now it's late and I need to sleep." Okay, it was only 8:30, but I really was tired.

"Well sorry, I am just trying to do something nice for you." She got out of the bed and walked toward the door.

"Roza!" I called after her as she turned the handle.

"What, Dimitri! What do you possible have to say now?" she was pissed.

"Can we not fight? Please. Just come back to bed with me. I am sorry." I lowered my voice, trying to calm the situation that was quickly going up in flames. She was taking several deep breaths.

"What is happening to us?" her voice was so soft, pained.

"I don't know, but I really don't like it. We haven't really had a chance to sit down and talk just the two of us. With all the extra practice and now the games, there just hasn't been time."

"Then we need to make time. I can't keep doing this, Dimitri. We're so back and forth right now and I can't handle it."

"Me either. We will make time, but for now, can we just cuddle in this enormous bed, courtesy of your father, and sleep. Please. I really need to focus this week, I need you to help me. I love you, Roza."

She let out a heavy sigh, "I love you, too, Dimitri. I know you need to focus, so we can put this on the back burner for now, but we need to talk. We can't keep going on like this."

I was thankful that she came back to bed and didn't leave. Last time she left me in a hotel room, well you know how that ended. I had one of the biggest games of my life tomorrow. I really needed to rest and focus. We didn't make it this far last year, as freshman we didn't play much, so this was our first real shot.

Rose put her back to me, she was still upset, her uneven breathing, she was crying. I wrapped my arm over her waist and pulled her tightly to my chest. Moving her hair away from her neck I placed feather light kisses from the base to her ear.

"Mne ochen' zhal', Roza, ya lyublyu tebya bol'she vsego na svete. Pozhaluysta, ne ostavlyay menya." (I am sorry, Roza, I love you more than anything in this world. Please, don't leave me.), I mumbled in her ear, I knew she wouldn't understand anything other than "I love you", but it made me feel better to say it out loud. My biggest fear in the world was her leaving, I don't know what I would do if she ever really left.

I kept whispering to her in Russian until I heard her breathing even out, she was asleep. With one last kiss to her neck, temple, then her ear. I drifted off to sleep myself.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

I had been texting and calling everyone back home for the last twenty four hours, finalizing all the details for everything. The whole group and Dimitri and Ivan's families flew in last night. They would be staying at another hotel a few blocks away. I wanted to keep it a surprise for as long as I could.

I almost blew it last night, I knew Dimitri was getting upset with me constantly on my phone. No doubt thinking I was texting Ben the whole time and not Lissa. I really was texting Lissa, well her and Adrian, Eddie and Mason, too. I had only texted Ben a few times since we left the resort, but it was just checking in and letting the other know we were doing okay.

When I woke up the next morning, Dimitri was already gone for the team breakfast. I rolled backwards and heard a crunching sound, there was a note on his side of the bed.

 _Roza, again, I am sorry for last night. Know that I love you and I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you helping me and pushing me to achieve my dreams. You are the greatest thing in my world, I love you, milaya. I'll see you before first pitch, I still need my good luck kiss. -Comrade_

I smiled a thousand watt smile and held back the tears welling up in my eyes. He really was a sap, but I loved every bit of it. I hated how back and forth we have been over the last few weeks. We have never had this many fights or problems, ever. I figured it would happen at some point, no relationship is perfect, but this was a bit much. How much more can we fight before one of us walks away and gives up. Everyone keeps telling us we will be fine, but I was really starting to question that. Would we be? Could we make it?

I checked the clock, it was seven am, I had thirty minutes to get showered and dressed before we had to head to the stadium. Texting Vika, I jumped in the shower and got ready. I skipped washing my hair to speed up the process, I was out the door twenty minutes later. I grabbed Vika and we headed to the ball fields, tt was only a five minute walk away. Lissa texted saying that they were all meeting up and would show up right as the game was to start.

Dad managed to get series passes for all of us, so we walked right through the gate and down the first base line. Dimitri and Ivan were in the dugout, Ivan was suiting up, Dimitri stretching his arm.

"Comrade!" I yelled for him. We couldn't get close to them like we used to at the high schools field. So they had to come outside to us.

"Roza, you look beautiful this morning."

"You don't have to suck up, we let it go, remember."

"Yes, but I still want to tell you. Is that a crime?" he laughed.

"Nope, but Baba might have your head if you don't get back in there soon." I said reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck.

I stood on the tips of my toes and pulled him closer to me, my lips met his in a fiery kiss. His tongue immediately darted out and licked my bottom lip, I granted him entrance instantly. We battled for dominance, eventually giving in and let him take over. This kiss wasn't just for good luck, I was letting him know I was here and I love him. I would always stand by him.

"Don't make me grab the hose, Rosemarie!" Dad yelled.

I pulled away from my Russian God, both of us breathing heavily, "Good luck baby, I will be right here for you, no matter what."

"I love you." he said with one more gentle peck to my forehead.

Let the games begin!

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I was so happy to see Rose this morning, she looked gorgeous in her cut off jean shorts and jersey. She and Vika got new ones made last week just for the games. Her hair was up in a messy bun on top her head, she was breathtaking. Then again, she could always take my breath away.

After last night, I wasn't sure how she would be feeling this morning, so I left a note and prayed she would be here to see me before I took the mound.

As I walked back to the dugout after that kiss, my lips and soul were on fire.

"You ready?" Ivan asked.

"Now I am, let's go."

We walked out onto the field together as the announcer was rambling on and on about stats for both teams playing. I couldn't be bothered with it though, I was in game mode now. The only thing that mattered was the ball in my hand. I stood on top the mound, looking at my right hand, then looking to the stands to find My Roza. I needed one last look at her. I found her quickly, but she wasn't alone. Behind her and my sister was my family and all of our friends, as well as Ivan's parents, too.

"Ivan!" I yelled, pointing behind him to the stands. He turned and saw what I did.

Everyone yelled for us and we waved, my smile could have broken my face. I caught Rose's eyes, a silent conversation passing between us. This is what had her texting non stop yesterday, it was Lissa that I saw at the airport. She did all of this for me, well Ivan too I guess. I mouthed a "Thank You" to her and kissed the ring on my finger, eyes still locked with hers. She kissed her ring and mouthed "You're welcome, I love you" back to me.

I was ready to take on the world.

* * *

 _ ****Break****_

* * *

We won every game and had made it into the finial eight. We had a few close calls, barely pulling out the win in the end. It was only going to get harder from here. The second round was double elimination though. The first game we played decided what bracket we went into, if we lost, we played again against another team that had lost, if we win, the opposite. So, even if we lost our first game, we still had a fighting chance, we just couldn't lose again.

By this point, we had played so many games, they had blurred together. I couldn't even tell you how many pitches I threw, and I could only pitch every other game. So I switched out with our first baseman, Caden, to get my rest time in. They put that ruling into play so we weren't causing to much damage to our arms. Our bullpen (back up and other starting pitchers) wasn't the strongest, but we managed, holding our own fairly well, until the second to last game. We lost, but got another shot against another losing team. They got lucky on their last game, they shouldn't have won, we were going to make sure they didn't win again.

Making it to the last game, we were tired and our bullpen was now empty. We had to change pitchers, due to the pitch count rule, and we didn't have another eligible pitcher to use.

"Ivan, do you think you can manage a few? Even if they hit off you, if we can keep it in the field, we can play it out."

"I haven't pitched since we were kids, D." we both looked to Abe, then the rest of the team for any help we could get.

"Ivan, you have to do this, your the only other one who has any experience pitching. I can put Dimitri behind the plate if that would help."

"You owe me. If I make a fool of myself in front of my parents and Vika...well, I can't really do anything to you, but know I will think about it."

Abe laughed, "Noted, now go. You get ten warm up throws. Dimitri, suit up."

I haven't worn catcher's gear in a really long time. I forgot how hot it got with all of it on. Helmet, chest protector and shin guards. It may not seem like much, but when it is 80 degrees and the sun is right above you, it gets really hot. I don't know how Ivan does it every game. I finished putting everything on and walked to the mound to meet with Ivan.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I have no idea what I am doing."

"Just breathe, were just going to play a simple game of catch. Follow through on your throws and don't take your eyes off of me. Even if someone is on base, leave them alone, focus on me."

He nodded and I took off to get behind the plate. Squatting down and giving Ivan a pitch signal, I waited. He threw a few balls at first, but came back to get a strike that went for a ground out. I could see his confidence gaining as he continued to throw. He wasn't as bad as I thought he would be, it has been almost ten years since he pitched. They did manage to get two on base, we were still leading by one. If we could just get the last two outs, we wouldn't have to bat again, if they scored, we had to come back in the ninth and either score or go into extra innings.

We were all tired and definitely didn't want to play any extra innings tonight. I walked up to the mound to talk with Ivan, I called the infielder's in as well, I had a plan.

"Your runner on second is getting way off base, so throw to Jeffrey, he can tag him out, the runner won't suspect you to throw to the shortstop. Jeffrey, once you tag him, check the runner at first, he may get confused and we might be able to pull a double off." I made sure to not look at anyone, but Ivan, the runners were watching us, trying to see if they could figure out what was being said.

We broke off the mound and went back to our positions. I signaled Ivan and watched my plan unfold. Managing to get the runner at second out, but the runner on first stayed put. Two down, one to go. A ground ball in the infield or a fly out would work perfectly. I gave Ivan the signal for the breaking ball, it was hitable, but the speed wouldn't allow it to be hit far.

The batter connected, but it didn't ground ball like we thought it would. It went straight into the air. I flipped my helmet off and tried to follow it in the blinding sun above.

"Dimitri go backwards, it's coming back down." Ivan yelled, guiding me.

I stepped back once, twice, by the third step I could finally see the little white speck, I moved a little to the left, but tripped over the helmet. As I fell, I could see the ball just above me. I reached as far as I could to my left to try and still catch it, if I could get it, that would be game over. It came closer and closer, I reached until my arm could go no further. The ball hit my glove and bounced back up. I moved again and managed to snag it.

"He's Out!" the umpire yelled and the crowd exploded. The coach for the opposing team was raising hell, saying that wasn't a legal catch. The ball never hit the ground, so it was indeed, legal.

I laid there on my back, I let out the breath I didn't realize I had been holding, Ivan came running up to me and jumped on top of me.

"We were going to the finals!" he yelled over the erupting crowd.

I couldn't breath, from two things, I just tripped over my own helmet and still managed to get the out, two…"Ivan, get your ass off of me! I can't breathe." I choked out.

He rolled off, but was still shaking me. I finally managed to get up and look into the stands. Rose had her camera and was taking pictures of Ivan and I. We smiled and held our gloves to the sky. I couldn't believe we pulled that off. The odds started stacking against us when we ran out of pitchers, then the two runners, finally my ass plant out. We shouldn't have won, we got lucky, but damn if I wasn't happier than a pig in mud right now.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

They pulled it off, I was actually floored. When we had to put Ivan in as pitcher, I got worried. If we lost this game, we were out. These boys have worked so hard, I couldn't bare to watch them fail. I didn't want to doubt them, but the odds were stacked against us more and more as the inning continued. I was biting my nails off when they threw out the second base runner. I had none left after Dimitri pulled off the catch of a lifetime.

We made it, _they_ made it. I was over powered with pride for my team. This, right now, was the second proudest moment of my life. I watched Dimitri and Ivan join the rest of the team in celebration. They lined up to shake hands with the other team, then returned to the dugout.

"Gentleman, I am beyond proud of you. I can not simply put into words just how much so. Now, I know we are all excited and want to celebrate the victory today, but we still have games to play. We get two days off, which I want everyone resting. We will run small drills and half practices. I do not want you to wear yourselves out anymore than you already are. My pitchers, I want you icing your arms tonight. For all of you though, I have booked us a three hour slot at the local spa. There you will all get massages and detox time in the therapy pools. We will be playing Southern California for the Championship. If you remember, they are one hell of a team and are hard to beat. We have beat them before, but that doesn't guarantee a win this time. I want all of you focused and ready."

I watched as they all nodded, smiles gracing every face. I dismissed them to go back to the hotel, we would be heading to the spa tomorrow morning. Tonight, they needed sleep.

Back in my own room, I went over the stats of the last weeks games and made adjustments to the rosters. I had several players that were batting a lot better now and fielding had picked up. How am I supposed to choose only nine to play? Granted, we will play a minimum of two games in the finals, so I could rotate them more. Who will be the starting pitcher though? Dimitri was the best, but I wanted to save his arm until I needed him most. A knock at my door brought me out of my thoughts.

"Dimitri, is everything okay, son?" he looked pained and a little nervous.

"Dad. I need help."

That baffled me, what is going on that he is coming to me for help. I opened the door wider for him to enter and gestured to the couch. He sat down, ringing his hands over and over again.

"Dimitri, what is it? Are you in trouble?"

"Not yet." he chuckled and took a deep breath, "Rose and I have been fighting, a lot."

"Fights will happen, its what you do after to fix it that matters. I have told you both, you are young, you have time to figure out what you both want."

"That's not the problem. We know what we both want. We want to follow our dreams and be together. The problem is, we both have the fear of the other leaving."

"That is something you just have to overcome. You tell each other how you are feeling everyday and make sure the other knows you have no intention of that happening."

"I was thinking something, a little more, symbolic." he looked down.

"You already gave her a promise ring, what more could …" I had to stop. NO. He was not doing what I think he is doing.

"You knew this day was coming, Abe." he was still looking down.

Yes, I knew this day was coming, but I was not ready for it.

"If you are going to ask me, you better look me in the damn eye."

His eyes snapped to mine, holding my glare. I didn't want this to happen yet. Could I just tell him, no? I could tell him Rose isn't ready for that, yes, that's what I will say.

"You already know that I want to marry her. I have always wanted that, you have already given your blessing, remember."

"She isn't ready, she just graduated, she needs to live a little."

"We both know it's not Rose who isn't ready.", he gave me a knowing look, "I am not asking her to give everything up and be a homemaker. I am simply asking her to take my name, nothing else will change. She can still chase her dreams, while I chase mine. I want her to know, without a shred of doubt, that she will always be my one and only."

"I'm not ready." I said just above a whisper.

Let me tell you something, I do not break. I have built my entire reputation on being unbreakable. Nothing has ever made me fall apart. Not Janine leaving without a physical word, not my daughter battling for her life, okay that did get me, but I stood strong for her. This, giving my little girl, my Cinderella, away. I cried.

"Abe, I know that I can't understand how you feel about letting her go, one day I will. You know I will do everything I can to provide for her, give her the life she deserves and protect her with everything I am."

"I know.. I know, son. It doesn't make it any easier though. She is my little girl, my everything." I could hardly speak, my voice was low and hoarse.

"She's not a little girl anymore, but she will always need her Baba. I am not taking her away from you, just changing her last name."

I wiped at my eyes, trying to control myself and cleared my throat. "So, What grand romantic gesture do you have planned. Knowing you it's going to set the bar high."

"I am so glad you asked, because I need your help."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

I spent the next four days with our friends and family that had come up. Dimitri and Ivan were busy with preparing for the finals, right now we were tied at a game a piece. The last game was tonight, so we all hung out to catch up on what was going on back home before heading over. Eddie and Mason decided they were going to to Major in Criminal Justice and go into the police force when they graduate. Adrian was taking off to Rome with Sydney, there is some architecture program there she is obsessed with. Lissa was following Christian to UT Austin. Vika and I would be staying in Nashville. She was going to go to Vanderbilt too, majoring in law. I was still going to try my hand at the record deal. I would give it a year, if nothing panned out, I would attend Vanderbilt and Major in Business.

Right now, we were all sitting at the little cafe in town. Everyone was talking in their own circles, I watched, letting my thoughts wander. I had texted with Ben this morning, filling him in on what was going on with me and Dimitri and updating him on the games. We had talked for a few hours, I was feeling better. Speaking to someone who wasn't related to either of us, or has known us forever, helped. He told me about a girl that he knew from years ago, she was now a single mother and he was taking her out this weekend. I was happy for him, he deserved to have a happily ever after.

Olena came over to sit next to me after talking with Viktoria. "How are things going, Roza'?"

"It's okay."

"You and Dimka? Everything okay there?"

"We haven't had time to talk over the last week. We promised to sit down and talk everything through when this was over and we got home."

"What is it that has you so worried?"

"That he is going to find someone better, even after everything we have been through. We keep setting each other off lately, little things are causing arguments, stupid arguments. How long will it be before one of us gives up?"

"Do you want to give up?" she was asking a lot of questions, but I knew what she was doing. She was making me think of the answers to my own questions. This way, I had to vocalize what I was feeling and I could hear myself answer.

"Never." I didn't hesitate, there was no doubt that I would ever give up.

"You know he won't either, right?"

"Yes."

"Well there you go. Like I told him last week. Stop pushing each other, stop worrying about something that neither of you have the intention of happening, because it will if you don't. You have to trust each other and your relationship. He loves you, just like we all do."

I just hugged her, I couldn't even think of what to say to convey how happy I was to have her in my life. She was always a better mother to me than Janine. I would forever cherish her.

"Thank You, Mama."

"You are most welcome, docha'."

I took a look at the clock, we needed to get moving. "Guys, the game starts in an hour. We should get going." I addressed our group.

We gathered up our stuff, throwing out the trash and made our way down to the stadium. I met Dimitri outside the dugout like always to give him his good luck kiss. He looked so nervous, he was starting pitching tonight. Dad had him play first base the last two games to save his arm. He was actually really good at it to, not surprising though, he could play any position and do well.

The game was intense, we had several close calls near the wall. These California boys could really hit, thankfully, the back walls here weren't super high and our outfielders could jump and make the plays. Dimitri was pitching very well, allowing five hits and two runs scored. Our batting could have been better, right now we had three hits and only one run.

It was the top of the eighth and we needed to make moves if we wanted to win. I could see they were tiring. I was biting my nails, praying they could pull through for two more innings. We were on the visitor side today, so if USC was still leading after the top of the ninth, we would get one last chance to bat.

The shortstop, Jeffrey, was able to make it home on a long shot out to right field, tying the score. The victory was short lived though, the next batter was stuck out to end the inning. The top of the ninth passed quickly, USC was starting to tire too, so we had three quick strike outs there.

With the score two to two, Jackson, Ivan and Dimitri were our next three batters. I know Jackson has been hitting well this week and with the pitcher losing strength, he should be able to at least get on base. We only needed one person to cross home to win the game.

He got out on a grounder to second, Ivan was up next. Vika was bouncing in her seat, I laid my hand on her knee, trying to send some calming vibes. All us were on the edge though, we all knew how much this means to our guys.

Ivan managed to pull out a double down the left field side. He was fast, so if Dimitri can get a base hit to the outfield, Ivan should be able to get home.

I caught my Comrade's eyes as he made his way to the box. I felt like we were back in high school, at the Jefferson game. I mouthed and I love you to him and kissed my ring, he did the same.

Now I was the one bouncing with Vika trying to calm me on one side, Lissa on the other. He was pitched three straight balls. I thought they were going to intentionally walk him for a moment. Caden was next in the batting order though, so either way, they had to face a good hitter. The catcher went to the mound to talk to the pitcher, after a moment he came back.

They didn't show that they were going to walk him, so I prayed he would get a decent pitch. It was coming right down the middle, Dimitri swung the bat with everything he had in him and the ball headed to the opposite field, in between center and right, sailing over the second baseman's head.

Ivan took off like a bat out of hell, rounding third and coming home. The fielder attempted the throw, it was close. Ivan dove for home plate as the catcher had jumped to catch the ball. We all held our breaths, the slide kicked up so much dirt we couldn't see if he made it home before the tag.

"SAFE!" the umpire bellowed.

We lost it! Not the game, just our shit! They won, they actually pulled off the win! Our group jumped up and down screaming at the top of our lungs. The team rushed the plate where Ivan was still face down. Dimitri picked him up by his belt and lifted him into the air. I had to sit down, I was crying, I was so proud of them. They fought tooth and nail to make it here and even harder to win. They went through three coaches, one trying to kill them all, then my father, who has no idea at all about the game. Yet, they still did it.

"Rosemarie Mazur!" I heard my name being yelled over the loudspeaker.

I looked around, then down to the mound where my champion boyfriend stood. I tried to raise an eyebrow, what is he up to. Then the music started, he was singing.

 _ **This is my love song to you,**_

 _ **Let every woman know I'm yours,**_

 _ **So you can fall asleep each night, babe**_

 _ **And know I'm dreamin' of you more**_

 _ **Your always hoping that we make it**_

 _ **You always wanna keep my gaze**_

 _ **Well your the only one I see, love**_

 _ **And that's the one thing that won't change**_

I started walking down the stands, my hand covered my mouth as the tears flowed faster down my cheeks.

 _ **I will never stop tryin'**_

 _ **I will never stop watchin' as you leave**_

 _ **I will never stop losing my breath**_

 _ **Every time I see you looking back at me**_

What in the world is he doing? He walked toward the fence to stand in front of me. His eyes never moving from mine.

 _ **And I will never stop holdin' your hand**_

 _ **I will never stop opening your door**_

 _ **I will never stop choosing you babe**_

 _ **I will never get used to you**_

He pulled something out of his back pocket and dropped to one knee.

 _ **And with this love song to you**_

 _ **It's not a momentary phase**_

 _ **You are my life, I don't deserve you**_

 _ **But you love me just the same**_

 _ **And as the mirror says we're older**_

 _ **I will not look the other way**_

 _ **You are my life my love my only**_

 _ **And that's the one thing that won't change**_

"Roza, Will you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife, so everyone in the world will know I belong to you, only you, forever."

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

Well there we have it, the end of Part 2. How much do you hate me right now? I have to say, I am having a complete blast writing this and I am so happy to see you are all liking it. So, Part 3 will be coming soon, should start posting within a week. But I have a few different ways it can go and I need a little input from you. Since the start, Rose and Dimitri have decided to save themselves for marriage, I went that route because I have read so many stories that they are sex addicts from the start, I wanted them to keep their innocents longer. So how many of you would like to see the Wedding Night played out, or would you rather we glance over it.

There is a current poll on my profile, please share your answers and thoughts.

I do not own any of the song titles/lyrics used in this story all credit goes to the artist:

Honey, I'm Good- Andy Grammer

Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5

Crazy Girl- Eli Young Band

Count on Me- Bruno Mars

Hall of Fame- The Script

I Won't Give Up- Jason Marz

Find out Who Your Friends Are- Tracey Lawrence

He Didn't Have to Be- Brad Paisley

Stealing Cinderella- Chuck Wicks

God Gave Me You- Blake Shelton

It Will Rain- Bruno Mars

A Drop In the Ocean- Ron Pope

Say Something- Justin Timberlake

Never Stop- Safetysuit


	29. Part 3: Chapter 1: I Loved Her First

_**Fair Warning: We time jumped again! Sorry!**_

 _ **Welcome back everyone! I have missed you all. So here we have it, Part 3. The end of Run Home, Comrade is near. I plan to have another 14 chapters in this one as well, but it may vary depending on some scenes that will be cut if you all decide you don't want to see them played out.**_

 _ **I have enjoyed writing this and taking this journey with all of you, I am so thankful to everyone who has reviewed, Favorited and followed. You really are the best.**_

 _ **I also just made a Facebook page, it will hold pictures for the places and outfits used in this part. I will also start posting updates to that.**_

 _ **dreamwalkersobsession**_

 _ **Now, as always, I do not own VA, only a few of the new characters and the plot.**_

* * *

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 1: I Loved Her First**_

 _ **RPOV**_

I was getting married today.

We were in San Antonio at the Canyon Springs Golf Club. The venue was absolutely beautiful. The ceremony itself would be held outdoors, with a waterfall in the background, a freaking waterfall guys! White folding chairs were lined up in ten rows of six on either side of the aisle. The leaves had all turned to a gorgeous orange and yellow color with autumn in full force now. The grass was a pristine green and so soft you could sleep on it. The reception would be inside the grand hall. It was a cobblestone building, with dark marble flooring and a dozen chandeliers hanging from the timber rafters. Twenty round tables sat along the back and sides of the room, a long table at the front for the bridal party, leaving the center open for dancing. Each table had a carnation and lily centerpiece in the middle, with our monogram "Belikov" glasses for each guest, surrounding them.

Walking in here this morning, I was speechless. We had been engaged for a over a year, and today, I would marry my best friend. I couldn't imagine a better place, or person to be sharing this with. Walking around, looking at all the wedding favors laid out, the guest "book" and the pictures of Dimitri and I, I thought back to the night he proposed and smiled.

 _ ****Flashback****_

"Roza, Will you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife, so everyone in the world will know I belong to you, only you, forever."

I didn't say anything, I couldn't. I stared at him for what seemed like forever.

"Rose?" He was waiting for an answer. I saw the worry and fear start to show on his face, did he really think I would say no. Probably not, but he expected me to say something, I just couldn't.

I nodded my head, ever so slowly, his smile returned and grew to the size of Texas.

"Really?", he wanted to make sure, I nodded faster.

He jumped to his feet, yelling at the top of his lungs, "She said, YES!"

Fireworks started to go off around the stadium. Wow, he really went all out. I was so focused on the display above me, I didn't notice he was no longer standing in front of me on the other side of the fence. I turned just in time, hearing the metal of his cleats pounding the ground. He picked me up twirling me around in circles. Everyone around us was hollering and clapping. Olena and his sisters were crying and Lissa was jumping up and down. The guys, being guys, just smiled.

"YA lyublyu tebya, Roza."

"As I love you, Comrade. That was amazing by the way, the song, the fireworks, you."

"Only the best for you, Roza. It was your Dad's idea on the fireworks, though."

Oh Baba, I looked over and saw him standing with Pavel, still in the dugout, crying. I have never seen my father cry, ever. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Congratulations, Kizim. You have grown up too fast on me." he placed a gentle kiss to my forehead, "I love you so much, Rosemarie."

"I loved you first, you know that right, and I will always be your little girl, Baba." I said, squeezing him tighter.

 _ ****End Flashback****_

"Rose….Rose….. _Rosemarie!"_ Lissa was trying to get my attention, I was so lost in my running thoughts, I couldn't be bothered. "Rose, are you hearing anything I have said?"

"No, sorry."

"I was saying we need to get your hair started, we only have five hours left before you walk the aisle."

The ceremony would start at four pm, Dimitri and I would take our leave at nine. We had to drive to Galveston in the morning, so we would stay at our hotel here, then leave early in the morning for our honeymoon. We were taking a cruise to the Caribbean Islands.

I walked into the bridle room, my dress hung from the door, with the bridesmaids next to it on the wall. I sat down and let Lissa work on my hair, Vika was starting on my makeup and Olena was running around grabbing last minute items.

Watching Olena doing all the things my mother should be here doing, broke my heart. I couldn't help the tears that started to well in my eyes.

"Roza, why are you crying?" Vika asked.

Lissa stopped working on my hair and grabbed a tissue, dabbing at my eyes. Olena came over to join them in front of me.

"My mom should be here. She is supposed to be doing this with me." I spoke so low, my heart was breaking all over again.

"You know she would have loved to be here. Just remember she is watching from above and is right beside you the whole time." Olena said.

"I know, it's just not the same. I want my mommy." I was fully crying by this point, my makeup running down my face. Olena sat and held me, whispering in Russian like Dimitri always does when I am upset.

Mom died last November. Turns out, she had cancer that was affecting her brain and never knew. By the time it was discovered, she only had a few months left. She came to live with all of us in Nashville and passed at home. We talked a lot in those last few months, she told me all the things I was longing to hear. We spent so much time fighting and avoiding each other, now she is gone and I would do anything to have her back.

"Rosemarie? Lissa said you needed me."

I ran into my father's arms, burying my face into his chest.

"It's okay, Kizim, I miss her, too." He rocked me back and forth, "Do you want me to get Dimitri?"

"No, I don't want to see him before the wedding. I will be okay, I just needed to let it out."

"Okay, go wash your face and let them finish getting you ready. I love you, Kiz." He kissed my hair.

"Love you, too, Baba, thank you."

I went into the bathroom and took a good look at myself. My makeup was running and my eyes were puffy, this is not a good look for today. I washed up and went back to letting Lissa and Vika work on me again.

Four more hours.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I was a nervous wreck. I am getting married today.

The last year had passed so quickly. It felt like just yesterday I was singing to her on the field, asking her to marry me. Now, it was time to walk the aisle. I would have Chris and Ivan by my side, like always, but I was still freaking out. What if she doesn't show, or changes her mind and wants to push it back. Abe has the enough money that they could loose every dime spent here and still throw another wedding twice as big. Then my worst fear, what if I turn out like my father? He was a horrible husband, would I be?

"D, can you help me with these stupid buttons, my fingers don't want to work today." Chris asked gesturing to his wrist, pulling me out of my inner battles.

The groomsmen, as well as Abe and Pavel, wore dark charcoal grey suits with white button downs and a royal purple vest and tie. I would be in the traditional black and white tux. Rose said she always wondered how I would look in one.

We had about four hours before we were do to be at the altar. I couldn't wait to see Rose in her gown. My mother and sisters assured me, I was going to fall to my knees. As I was helping Christian with his sleeve buttons, when Lissa came knocking on the door.

"Liss, what's wrong?" Chris asked.

"I need Abe, _now."_

"Lissa, what's going on, is Rose okay?" I asked, now I was freaking out more.

She didn't answer, she took off, Abe in tow for the bridal room. I started to panic, what could be wrong, why did Lissa look so upset? I was pacing the room until Abe got back.

"What is wrong, is she okay? Did she change…" he cut me off, holding up his hand.

"She misses her mom, she wants her here." his voice was dripping in sadness and pain.

I should have known, today would be hard for her without Janine here. No matter how rough their relationship was, she always dreamed of both her parents being here. I gave Abe a nod of acknowledgement and walked back over to help Christian again.

"Dimitri, where is my tie?" Abe asked, took him long enough to realize it wasn't in there.

I grabbed the small box from the table. "This is from Rose."

He opened it to see a purple silk tie, with special stitching on the inside. "Baba, I loved you first. 09.13.2017" I could see the tears building and handed him another box.

"Now you will need this." I had bought him a purple handkerchief to go with his suit, since he seems to be the only man who still wears them. I also had it stitched with our wedding date and "Father of the Bride".

"Thank you, Dimitri. I have something for you as well, but you can not open it until I leave to get Rose." He handed me an envelope.

"I am not going to find another credit card and full service resort receipts in here am I?"

"No, not this time." he chuckled.

I put the envelope on the dressing table and went to get my suit on. We had the Grooms pictures coming up soon.

Three more hours.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

My hair and makeup was now done, and the photographer was about to start doing the dress pictures. Everything from me putting it on, to posing with my bridesmaids. I never want to have another picture taken after today.

I stood in front of the full length mirror, wearing only my strapless lace bra and matching thong, with my garter on my left thigh. Lissa and Vika were getting my dress down from the door. It was a floor length chiffon gown, with a draped bodice, a little crystal detail at my hip and a cascading skirt, a short train flowed out behind me. I stepped into it and Olena came over to lace up the back, while Liss and Vika helped me hold it up in place.

Olena walked over to the vanity and grabbed a velvet box, "This was my mother's, I want you to have it."

I looked to Vika, she simply smiled, opening the box, I found a beautiful necklace. It had to be old, but looked brand new. It had Swarovski crystals on a light chain, flowing into a Y-shape. Olena took it out of the box and put it on me. It hung right above my bust, it was perfect.

"Thank you.", I choked out. It was all I could manage right now without crying again.

I helped the girls and Olena into their dresses. Liss and Vika would be wearing strapless royal purple, knee length gowns. Olena had a floor length royal purple dress with a dark charcoal grey ribbon on the waist, matching my father's suit.

With pictures now done, we only had to wait for the service to begin.

One more hour.

* * *

"Kiz, it's time to go." Dad said as he walked into the room. He looked like he was ready to fall to his knees and cry.

I still stood before the mirror, looking at the woman staring back at me. I never planned on being married before my twentieth birthday, but I am glad we are getting it done and over with. The longer we waited, the more time we had to back out. Not that I wanted to, I was sure Dimitri wouldn't either, but I just wanted to make it official.

"You are absolutely gorgeous, your mother would have been so proud."

He stood behind me, I looked at him through the mirror.

"I really wish she was here." I was trying my hardest not to let the tears fall.

"You know she is. Now, there is a very impatient man waiting at the altar for you. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. You?"

"Not in the slightest."

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Abe had just left to go and get Roza, I looked at the envelope he had given me. Sitting down, I took a deep breath before opening it.

 _Dimitri, First, I want you to know I am extremely proud of you. You have grown into an extraordinary young man. I watch the way the team follows you, you are a born leader and will amount to great things. Second, I realized something the night Janine left, after graduation, you went to Rose. She no longer needs me, she has you now. Well, I guess she has always had you, but she isn't my little girl anymore. Please take care of her. I am trusting you with the most precious thing I have, guard her with your life. Third, know that one day, you will feel how I do. One day, you will understand what it is like to watch your children grow their wings and fly. Cherish every moment you have, because one day you will wake up and it will be gone. Take it from an Old Man who has made many mistakes in his life, when you have everything you could ever wish for around you, make sure the most important is always by your side. Lastly, I want you to know, although I am not ready to walk her down the aisle, I am glad you are the man at the end. Welcome to the family, I love you, Son. - Zemy_

A tear drop hit the page, Abe has never been so open like this with me. Sure he has told me before that he was proud of me, or he was glad that I was the one Rose had chosen, but nothing like this.

I stood up and wiped my face, I would do everything to be the man he knows I can be. The man his daughter deserves. I placed the letter in my suitcase and made my way to the altar.

The music started and the bridal party made their entrance. Ivan and Vika came out first, followed by Chris and Lissa. Paul and Katya walked down after that, Katya throwing flowers everywhere, Paul was holding the ring pillow. Zoya was next, holding a sign that said "Uncle Dimka, here comes your Roza." I smiled so wide as I looked a my niece, she was beautiful in her little white sun dress. She came up to me and gave me a hug around my legs before taking her seat next to her Mama. The song changed, "Stealing Cinderella" came through the speakers and everyone stood.

I however, did indeed, fall to my knees. My Roza walked out into the open courtyard, she was breathtaking. The dress she had chosen fit her so well, she looked like Royalty. My eyes locked onto hers and followed her movement down the aisle. When she came to stand in front of me, I was frozen. I took in all of her before me. Her hair fell in loose curls down her back and shoulders, my grandmother's necklace hung delicately around her neck. The white vail flowed from the top of her head down passed her waist. Her face, subtle makeup was all she needed, her eyes were big and bright, lips plump and pink. She really was Cinderella, can I kiss her now?

Abe reached his hand down to me, helping me stand back up. The officiant spoke, "Who gives the woman to this man."

Abe looked at Rose one last time, "I do." He kissed her temple and placed her hand in mine.

I didn't even hear what the officiant was saying, I was so lost in Roza's eyes, holding so much love and happiness in them. I felt a tap on my shoulder, Ivan. I looked back at him and heard him chuckle.

"Dimitri, would you like to say your vows?" the officiant asked.

I took a deep breath, "Rose, My Roza, my life, my love, my soulmate. I have loved you for thirteen years and I plan to love you for the rest of my days. You have always been my one and only, my biggest supporter, my best friend. I don't know where I would have ended up without you. I promise to love and cherish you, for the rest of my life. Protect you and provide for you, until I am no longer here. To love you in every way possible, even when your Hathaway side comes out. Forever and Always, Roza."

"Rosemarie."

"Dimitri, My Comrade, my love, my soulmate. Thirteen years ago I threw sand at you and told you to leave me alone. You didn't listen." Everyone laughed, "I never would have guessed back then, that we would be here today. You have been by my side through everything, even from across the country, you have always been there. I promise for the rest of my life, I will do the same for you. I promise to love you until my last breath and beyond. I couldn't imagine taking this journey with anyone else. You are my world, my light, my life. Forever and Always, Comrade."

"May we have the rings." he asked, I got Rose's from Ivan, Vika had mine. "Dimitri, place the ring on the left third finger halfway, and repeat after me. I Dimitri Alexander Belikov, take thee, Rosemarie Mazur, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and to love and cherish her, all the days of my life."

I repeated everything, word for word, never taking my eyes from Rose's as I slide the ring onto her tiny finger. She then repeated the same vow back and placed mine.

"It is with great pleasure, in front of these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I wrapped my arms around Rose's waist, her's went straight around my neck. I could hear the cheering in the background, but it sounded miles away. The sweet taste of my Roza clouded all my senses. I pulled back to take in my brides face.

"I love you, Mrs. Belikova."

"I love you, too, Mr. Belikov."

I took her hand in mine, leading us back down the aisle. We would be taking our group photos now, then the reception would begin.

After what I swear was a thousand photos, Roza and I, our families, the full bridal party, the kids and us, we were done. Everyone else went in ahead of us, we would enter and do our first dance before sitting for dinner.

"I am so glad that is over, I am starving!" Rose said.

"Aren't you always, come on, we have our dance then we get to eat."

The music started inside and we walked through the grand double wooden doors. We had picked "Never Stop" to be our first dance song, the one I sang to her on the field. I twirled her around the dance floor, lights flashing all around us.

"You have made me the happiest man in the world, Roza. I still can't believe we made it here."

"Did you ever really doubt that we would?" she asked, trying to raise an eyebrow.

I chuckled, "No, but that doesn't mean I was freaking out until I heard you say your vows."

"So was I, don't feel bad." she laughed.

As the song drew to it's end, I kissed my wife and led her to the table. Dinner was being served, seared filet mignon, seasoned vegetables and roasted potatoes. The guest would have a buffet setup, the family and bridal table were plated. I watched as all the guest mingled around, our table ate and conversed amongst themselves. Paul and one of my teammates boys were running around the entire room. Soft music playing in the background. I have never been happier, than I was right in this moment. I have everything I could ever dream of, right here in this room.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

The ceremony had gone perfectly. I managed not to cry anymore through the night. Not even during the Father Daughter dance, we played "I loved Her First" by Heartland. It was perfect for Baba and I. Dimitri and Mama danced to "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney, he looked so graceful leading his mother around the dance floor.

The night was starting to wind down and the speeches were about to be made. Ivan and Vika said they had been working on them together for a long while. I heard the clinking of the glass and everyone in the room started to settle.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please and thank you!" Ivan started. "Now, this is the part where we are supposed to say encouraging words or tell stories of these two, but we decided to do something a little different."

What in the hell did they have planned? Just then, the music started, Ivan and Vika had microphones in their hands. I could see Lissa, Chris, Mason, Eddie and Adrian coming up in the background.

" _ **Listen baby**_ ," Ivan started, really guys?

 _ **Ain't no mountain high**_

 _ **Ain't no valley low**_

 _ **Ain't no river wide enough, baby**_

 _ **If you need me call me,**_

 _ **No matter where you are, no matter how far**_

 _ **Don't worry baby**_

 _ **Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry**_

 _ **You don't have to worry**_

Dimitri and I were rolling at Ivan attempting to sing, Vika wasn't bad, but Ivan, yeah I could have gone my whole life without hearing that. Everyone else was dancing around in the background, joining in at random spots.

As the song finished, all of our closest friends stood before us, Ivan spoke.

"No matter what happens in life, always remember you have each other and us, ready to cross any mountain the world may put in front of you."

"After everything we have watched you two go through, I can say, for everyone, we are so proud and happy to see this day." Vika chimed in, "We love you both to the moon and back and wish you nothing but the best that this life has to offer."

I was so overwhelmed with the love and support my friends have shown us. We got up and hugged them all, getting well wishes and "I love you's" from all of them. My father came over and took the mic from Ivan.

"I just want to add one little bit of advice for my new son. Dimitri, the key to a happy marriage is to remember, one person is always right, the other, is the husband." Everyone laughed, "On a serious note though, both of you remember, no matter what, never go to bed angry with the other. Make sure to say "I love you" everyday and cherish every moment. You never know when it will be your last."

I looked into my father's eyes and could see the pain and sorrow he was trying so hard to hide. After mom had left, we both fought with her all the time. When ever she would call, it always ended on a bad note. I know he regretted it as much as I did, now. We both wish things would have been different, that we would have told her we loved her more, or tried to see the signs that she was sick. We let the anger cloud our vision and we missed out on most of her last year of life. I hugged my Baba as tightly as I could, not holding back the tears any longer.

"Don't cry, Kizim." he said looking into my eyes, "Promise me you won't make the same mistakes I did. Okay."

"I promise. I'm sorry, Baba, I wish we could go back and change things."

"A very wise baboon once said, "The past can hurt, you can either run from it, or learn." As long as we learn from it, everything will be okay."

I laughed, "Really, you are quoting The Lion King right now?"

"It sounded good in my head." he returned with a laugh of his own.

I looked over to Dimitri, he was watching our exchange with a smile on his face. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"What is that smile for?"

"Just thinking how lucky I am. Not only do I have the most beautiful wife in the world, but I got a kick ass father-in-law, too."

"Never thought I would see the day that you and Dad were best friends."

"Better than enemies, I do not want to be on his bad side. Anyways, are you ready to throw the bouquet, we have to get going soon."

Adrian caught the garter, of course. Lissa caught the bouquet, I gave Chris a small chuckle as he watched Lissa jump around. We had everyone head outside for the send off, they would each get a sparkler to hold up, Dimitri and I would walk underneath them.

We met Dad and Olena at the end, giving each a hug and a kiss before climbing into Dimitri's truck. I would be driving us to the hotel tonight, since Dimitri had been drinking, then in the morning we would leave for the cruise.

I was glad, honestly, that he had been drinking throughout the night. I was nervous about the honeymoon. Dimitri and I have waited so long for this, not just getting married, but to be intimate. He was already tired, so I knew we wouldn't do anything tonight, but the rest of the week, that was still unplanned. Granted, no matter what, I would still love him and be with him, but the what if game was running rampage through my mind.

What if I wasn't good, or didn't know how to pleasure him. What if he couldn't do the same for me. What if we couldn't have a family. What if he hated seeing me naked. What if he was insecure about himself. What if, What if, What if. It wouldn't stop.

"Everything okay, Roza?"

We were now sitting in the hotel parking lot, I was staring out the windshield at nothing.

"Yeah, just fine, come on, let's check in and get some sleep. We have to be up early."

"You're lying. What is wrong?"

"I just don't want to talk about it right now. I will tomorrow, promise, right now I just want to sleep. It's been a long day."

"Alright, but tomorrow, no later. Okay?"

"Promise."

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So, was it the wedding you all dreamed of? Sorry for killing off Janine, but she really never played an important role. Now, I am still looking for more votes on the poll for the M scene, please share your thoughts. I have written it and really want to include it, due to it being such a special moment for Romitri, but I don't want anyone to be upset by it.

Song used: Ain't No Mountain High Enough, by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell , I do not own it.

Thank you all for the reviews and keep them coming, i love hearing from everyone.


	30. Part 3: Chapter 2: Castaway

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 ** _As Always, R &R and Enjoy! _**

**_I do not own VA or its characters._**

* * *

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 2: Castaway**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Waking up that morning, I was in heaven. Roza laid on her side, still curled up into my body, head resting above my heart, one arm draped over my stomach, our legs tangled together. I looked at her, she was beautiful. Even with her hair sticking out every which way from the wedding and sleeping. I started to trace idle patterns on her back, slowly trying to wake her up. I learned years ago, never try to wake her up quickly, she is not a morning person. As she started to stir from my touch I gave it another minute before speaking.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Belikova. Did you sleep well?"

"Very much so, but I could go for a few more hours." she laughed.

"I'm sure you could, but we have a boat to catch."

I untangled myself from her and made my way to the bathroom, after brushing my teeth and hair I walked back out. Rose was already dressed, she looked scared. Something was bugging her, I knew it last night, but she didn't want to talk then.

"Rose, what is wrong? You were spaced out last night, now you're...I don't know, like you're afraid to tell me something." Did something happen? Did she do something that would upset me?

"I just...I want...God, I don't even know how to talk about it!" Okay, now I was confused.

"Did something happen that I don't know about?"

"No, nothing like that, it's just...I'm scared, okay."

"Scared of what?" What on earth could she be scared of? I would never let anything happen to her, not again.

She mumbled something, "I couldn't hear you, Rose." Whatever it is, it must be big.

"SEX!" she almost yelled.

Okay, I was not expecting that. Why would she be scared, was this because of Jesse? I swear I will kill him if he ruined this for her.

"Why?" I wanted to test the waters, let her tell me and not jump to conclusions.

"Because we have never done it. What if I am no good at it?"

That is what had her so scared? Granted I had my own fears about it, but we wouldn't know the answeres until we tried. I moved over and sat beside her on the bed, taking her hands in mine.

"Roza, look at me." she wouldn't, so I grabbed her chin and made her. "Look, no matter what, we will be fine. I don't care if we don't have a great intimate relationship, I have you, that is all I need."

"But we both want a family someday, what if I can't give you that."

"We will cross that bridge if it comes. We don't have to jump right into either, you know that, right?"

"Yes, but….well I want to. We have already waited for so long, do you not want to?" she put her head down.

I made her look at me again, "Trust me, I want to. I just won't push you, if you want to wait a bit longer we can. We have the rest of our lives to be together in every way, we don't have to do anything you're not ready for."

"You know I love you, right?"

"I would hope so, you married me. Now you really are stuck with me for the rest of your life." I laughed. "Now, go brush that birds nest out and let's go."

She smacked my arm and stood up, I spanked her as she walked to the bathroom, earning me a very loud "Comrade" and full laugh. Married life would be great.

* * *

We pulled up to the cruise terminal, it was a madhouse. There were people everywhere, the streets were packed with cars and police officers were walking on every corner. I parked in the lot Abe had paid for and we took the shuttle bus over to the terminal.

We had the fast pass, so we bypassed the huge line of people anxiously waiting to get on the ship. It was much like checking in at the airport. Once we were upstairs, we got our key cards that would open our room and hold our money. We had gone through our cards last night and actually made out pretty well. Almost a thousand dollars in cash, plus several prepaid VISA gift cards we could use in the ports.

We got to take a picture before we walked up the tunnel, "the sail away" photo. We would definitely have to buy that one. As we made our way up the tunnel, I looked out of the sides to see the supplies being forklifted into a side door. Man, Rose was going to be in heaven with all the food on here.

The fair included all food, other than the special dining rooms, the room and spa access. There is a twenty four hour ice cream machines and all day pizza bar. Yeah she was going to gain ten pounds easy, though I won't say anything about it. Stepping onto the little bridge, we finally made it inside the ship. I was memorized. In the middle of the floor sat a huge bar, with a three teir stage slightly above it. Glass elevators moved up and down to the right and one restaurant sat on the left. People moved about everywhere, some at the bar already enjoying drinks, others trying to get through the crowd.

"Since we have the fast pass our room should be ready. How about we go drop off our carry-ons, put on some swim gear and grab lunch?"

"Sounds great, but which way do we go?"

Our room was at the front of the ship and on one of the top decks, we definitely needed an elevator. Not that we couldn't walk the whole way, but I didn't want to drag a suitcase all the way up nine flights of stairs. I walked us over to the elevators, trying to find a map of the boat. Quickly figuring out which way we needed to go, we headed off.

The room we had was amazing. King sized bed, couch and coffee table and a decent sized balcony that we could look out over the ocean. Rose was taking pictures of everything and texting the girls. The bathroom was a little small, considering my height, but Abe said they have huge showers in the spa area, it was included with the room, so I would be going over there.

Changing and heading down the two flights of stairs we made it to the Lido Deck. This is where the pools and parties happen. Several bars all around, which I found out, if I order the drinks, they won't question Rose drinking. She had made a lot of progress with being able to drink out of fountains and already open containers. I was so proud of her. We ate at the "Guy's Burger Joint" and it had to be the best burger I have ever eaten in my life. There was also a Mexican style spot on the other side, and the pizza place at the back of the ship.

Before sailing away, we had to go to "Muster". That is the drill that tells us what to do and where to go, should the ship start to sink. Rose freaked out a bit, yelling "The titanic was supposed to be unsinkable and look what happened." Several people that were in our area reassured her that they cruise all the time and have never had anything happen. Rose knocked on the table, hoping to unjinx us. I just laughed.

"Rose, this is just a precaution. Ships are made a lot better now, then they were back then. They sail every week of the year, I am sure we will be fine."

"Whatever you say, but I am not sharing my door, Jack."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Okay, I did find it funny, her name is Rose, the girl on Titanic was Rose...yeah, it was stupid, but I laughed anyways.

The sail away party came next, it was on the Lido Deck, we would meet our Cruise Director. He was in charge of making sure we all had a blast, let me tell you, the guy was good at his job. The horn sounded and we were off! Time to castaway and leave everything else at home.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

This week has been amazing. Monday we spent the day by the pools and watched the "Hairy Chest" contest, the grandma judge was hilarious. That night was formal night, so we got dressed to the nines and have dinner in the dining hall. They have this thing, "Chocolate Melting Cake", or as I call it, heaven in a cup. A-freaking-mazing. Tuesday we went to some of the little shows and Dimitri tried his hand in the Casino, managing to make a few hundred dollars.

It is now Wednesday, we are leaving Jamaica and would be headed to the Cayman Islands. We took a snorkel trip to "Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville", it was awesome. I got on the little stage with some of the towns people, singing and dancing while taking shots of rum. It was weird in a way, I was only nineteen, but they paid no mind, legal age here was eighteen. Everyone around us bought us drinks and were constantly congratulating us on getting married.

I was finally relaxing with the whole idea of being out in the middle of the ocean on a giant boat. The first night I could hardly sleep, thinking at any point the sirens would go off and that would be the end. Now, after a few days on the water, I wasn't scared anymore, I was at peace. Waking up in the morning and going out to our balcony, there was nothing around, just wide open ocean. There was something so tranquil about it, it was like we were in another world out here.

"Good Morning, Milaya. Did you sleep okay? How's your head?" Dimitri asked joining me on the balcony.

"It's okay, the midnight trip to the pizza bar helped I think." I laughed.

"When did you get out of bed?"

He was passed out last night. The drinks we had in Jamaica really did a number on him.

"Around one this morning, I was starving."

He laughed and kissed my hair, "Well, I am going to go get a shower before we port."

I stayed on the balcony, I could see the island in the distance. We would dock in about an hour or so. Today we were just spending time on the beach. Cayman has a seven mile beach front that you can walk. The sand was pure white and the water was so blue, it was hard to tell where the sky ended and the water began in the distance. Taking one last long look out, I headed back in to get in the shower myself.

After our talk before getting on the ship, Dimitri and I still weren't changing in front of each other. I was embarrassed to a point, we were married and I couldn't bring myself to get dressed with him in the room. He stood true on his words though, he hasn't made any move for physical contact while in bed. I however, was starting to get antsy. I really wanted him, why was I so worried about it? I needed to talk to Lissa, I would call Vika, but talking to her about sleeping with her brother, probably not the best idea.

As we walked the beach, I saw a little hut that had food and a sign that said free wi-fi.

"Hey Comrade, you want to stop here and grab some lunch?"

"Sure." we walked up the ramp and sat at one of the tables.

I connected to the Wi-Fi and got on facebook. I messaged Lissa and asked if she could video chat. As soon as she responded, I told Dimitri I was going to walk around and look at some of the vendors that were out front.

" _Hey, how is the cruise going? I didn't know you would have internet access."_

"We found a lunch spot that had wi-fi, but I need your help."

" _What's wrong, are you guys okay?"_

"Yeah, we're fine. It's...well…hold on.." I tried to find the right words, there were a lot of people around and I really didn't want this conversation overheard. I walked around the front to a secluded spot. "I need some advice," I took a deep breath, "Dimitri and I still haven't been intimate yet. I don't know what to do and I am freaking out over it."

" _Really? I figured you guys would be going at it like rabbits now that you didn't have to wait."_

"Trust me, I want to and I know he does too, but..like.. I am scared that we won't like it."

" _Oh trust me, you will like it. You guys just need to get the first time over. You will learn in time what the other likes, what you like and it will get better over time."_

"Is it going to hurt?"

" _A little at first, but it doesn't last long. He just needs to start off slow and make sure you are ready for him."_

"What do you mean by that?"

" _Foreplay, Rose. Your body has to prepare itself for him, it will help if you orgasam before actuall intercourse. Just go with the flow, once you start your body will run on instinct."_

"You're right, we just need to get it over with." my mind was running, I was trying to think of how I should bring it up to him, "Should I talk to him about it, or just dive in?"

" _Did you find the box at the bottom of your suitcase?"_ I nodded, _"Did you look in it yet?"_ I shook my head, _"Put that on, words won't be needed after that." she smiled at me with a wink._

"What's in the box, Liss?" I already had an idea, knowing her and Vika, it was probably something ten times worse than I would ever buy.

" _Just a gift from your loving bridesmaids. Have fun." she signed off._

I walked back around to where Dimitri was waiting for me.

"I was starting to get worried, did you find anything you liked?" he asked.

"Not really, so what looks good?"

* * *

Lunch was delicious, we had coconut shrimp and some type of spiced chicken. We continued down the beach, making our way back to the ship, stopping one last time to look at the souvenir shops. I walked back into the room and went to get the box that the girls had put in my suitcase. Dimitri was going to take another shower, so I waited till he walked out to open it.

I took a deep breath and lifted the lid off. Inside was a sheer white laced babydoll and matching thong. It was completely see through, I could already imagine how the white would contrast with, my now very tan, skin. Thank you Baba for my Turkish blood. I heard the lock on the door click and put the babydoll back in the box, sliding it under the bed.

"What do you want to do for dinner, milaya? Dining room or Lido?"

"Dining room, I want more of that cake." I laughed.

He started getting his slacks and button downs laid out, while I jumped in the shower. My mind was still running with the thoughts of what I was going to do tonight. How would he react? Does he want to? _Stop, Rose, just enjoy dinner and when you get back, dive in._ Yes, that's what I will do, dive in.

Our waiter in the dining hall tonight was Russian, much to Dimitri's liking. They had a full conversation that no one else was included in, mainly me. I tried not to get upset over it, he never got to speak it with anyone but his family, but I hated not being able to understand his language. I had to get Olena to help me when I had to say goodbye to him before college. I wanted to be able to connect with him on that level, but he still hasn't taught me. Then again, when have we had time.

"So, what do you want to do after dinner? There's the dive in movie, comedy shows or we can relax in the room."

"We should check out the comedy shows, I have heard people talking about how good they are." Really, I was stalling. I needed a little more time to work up the nerve.

"Well, it doesn't start for another two hours, how about we go down to the atrium and listen to the violinist play."

"Sounds great."

That it was, we sat at a corner table, Dimitri ordered a drink for each of us. The violinist played every genre of music you could think of, it all sounded beautiful. I was in a trance listening to them, I barely registered Dimitri telling me the show would start soon.

I don't think I have ever laughed that hard in my entire life. I don't even remember the name of the comedian, but he was hilarious. At the end of the show, he was saying how sad the club next door looked, there were only five people in there and the DJ was not into it at all. So we all left the comedy club and walked into the lounge. The DJ got all excited and started to get into it. We danced for one song, then everyone walked out. The look on that guys face, priceless, like what the hell just happened.

Dimitri and I laughed all the way back to our room, then it started to hit me again. I was distracted the last three hours, I wasn't really thinking about tonight. Now, we were back in the room, it was time. Dimitri went to the spa showers again and got dressed for bed. I took another shower of my own, something about being around all these people, I always felt dirty.

I heard the door open in the room, I was still standing in the bathroom, not moving. I had shaved my legs and underarms, brushed my hair and teeth and put on some light lip gloss. As I stood in front of the mirror, I had to admit, I looked sexy. My skin was two shades darker than when we got here, my body was toned, not overly so, but you could still see the definition in my arms, legs and abs. I took one last look and a deep breath and opened the door.

Dimitri didn't look up right away when I stepped out, he had one of his old westerns in his hands. He hasn't been reading them much, with baseball and school, he hadn't had time. It was nice to see him fully relaxed. The door closed completely and he looked up at the sound.

" _Roza."_ his accent got thicker, his eyes clouded with lust.

Damn, Lissa was right.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So there we have Chapter 2. In case you couldn't tell, I love cruising, it is the best vacation I have ever taken.

I wanted to engage with everyone more, so I thought I should start doing a question per chapter. So for this one, What was your favorite vacation?

Again, thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews, you guys are the best.


	31. Part 3: Chapter 3: Ride

_**Here you are, your long awaited for Lemon! I hope it is up to standard, I have never written one before. It is marked, if you would rather not read it, but this chapter is solely dedicated to them coming together for the first time, you may rather wait till Chapter 4 comes out.**_

* * *

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 3: Ride**_

 _ **DPOV**_

The week was going beautifully, but today, something was up with Rose. I know our talk the other day was still bugging her, but I meant what I said. I would not push her into being intimate until she was ready. I was still changing in the spa bathroom, sleeping in my flannel pants and trying to keep a barrier between us at night.

In all honesty, I held much of the same fear as Rose. I didn't know what or how to do anything, I mean, I knew how in a sense, but putting it into action was a different story. Talking with Ivan really didn't help much, mainly because he would only tell me about his first time. Since everything else he's done was with my sister, I was grateful for that. Christian, well he was apparently not an adventurous lover, he said they never did anything out of the ordinary, so he wasn't much help. I have heard a few guys on the team talking about their conquest and picked up a few tips there, but I still didn't know how to actually do it.

I wanted to pleasure Rose in every way possible. I would either have to do some "research", which I wasn't comfortable with, or just try and see what happens, act on instinct. I will admit though, knowing our time for waiting had come to an end, just to wait more, yeah, it was hard.

After the comedy show, I decided I would take another cold shower before returning for bed. When I arrived back at the room, Rose was in the bathroom, I didn't hear the water running so she should be out soon. I laid back on the bed, wearing only my boxers tonight, the room wasn't as cold as I would like and I have been overheating, I hope Rose wouldn't mind.

I heard the door open, but didn't look up. She would normally just come crawl into the bed, resting her head in my lap, while I read for a little while. After a moment she hadn't come over, I heard the door shut fully.

The sight before me would make a blind man see. I am pretty sure my eyes widened to the size of baseballs.

"Roza." I let out in a low growl. I could see the look of lust in her eyes, I was sure mine held the same. Slowly, I stood up, a tent already forming in my boxers.

"See something you like, Comrade?" her face flushed pink.

"Not at all," she started to shy away, "I see everything I love, Roza."

I stood before her now, looking down at her, my hands running from her bare shoulders, down to her wrist. Taking them in my hands, I brought her fingers to my mouth, lightly kissing where her rings sat.

"Dimitri, I want this." she said, placing her hands to my chest, running her nails down my abdomen, stopping at the band on my boxers.

A low growl built in my throat, as the feel of her nails on my skin left a trail of fire in their wake. I wanted so badly to lay her down and make love to her right now, but we needed to go slow, I knew it would hurt her if I rushed it.

I brought my mouth inches from hers. "Are you sure, we can wait, Roza. There is no rush." As I said those words, I prayed she didn't tell me to stop.

"Yes, Dimitri, I want this. I want you." With that, I crashed my lips to hers.

* * *

 *******START M SCENE********

I gripped her hips and pulled her flesh against me, my hardened erection pressing into her stomach. She let out a small gasp and I took advantage of her open mouth, moving my tongue to caress hers. There was no battle, no forceful moves, just the sweet taste of My Roza.

Her arms snaked around my neck and pulled at my hair, a moan escaped my lips. "God, Roza!"

Grabbing the back of her thighs I lifted her in the air, her legs wrapped around my waist, now pressing directly into her core. I could feel the heat, her panites were already wet. That did nothing but drive me further with desire.

I moved over to the bed, laying her down and never breaking the kiss. I used my left hand to hold my weight, while my right went into her hair, it felt like silk running through my fingers. I left her lips to let her breathe, but didn't leave her skin. I trailed down her jaw, to the sweet spot behind her ear. To many times I had kissed her there and had to stop, now I didn't. Withering beneath me, she let out a small moan of pleasure.

I felt her press against my chest, I pulled back immediately, did she want to stop? She pushed me over and rolled on top of me, now straddling my waist. My cock was starting to hurt from its confines, but I didn't say anything, it was a enjoyable pain. I looked into Roza's lust filled eyes, desire, anticipation, a little fear and a lot of love, were written all over her face. God, she was beautiful. I ran my hands up her thighs to the edge of her shirt, slowly I pushed it up and let my fingers run across her bare flesh at her back.

I looked into her eyes, asking permission, she gave me a shy nod. I sat up and lifted it above her head, throwing it to the side. Instinctively, she covered herself.

"Don't hide, Roza." I said, grabbing onto her wrist and moving her arms away. Her breast now bare to me, twin perfections, full and plump to one day feed our children. "You are so beautiful, so beautiful it hurts, never hide from me."

Taking her right breast into my hand, I palmed the weight, running my thumb over her glorious perfect nipple. Doing the same to the left, but instead I occupied my mouth, gently kissing and suckling on her soft flesh. She started to grind her hips into me, causing me to moan against her. I moved over to the right to give it the same attention as its twin, my hands went to her waist, caressing her hips before forcing her harder onto my painful erection. Rolling us back over, I hovered over her, still pushing into her core. I could smell her arousal in the air, I wanted nothing more than to taste her. I had fantasized about this, how it would feel to claim her body as mine.

I began to trail kisses down her neck again, going down her collarbone, to the valley between her bust, pausing to kiss each of her erect nipples. Continuing down her abdomen, stopping at her navel. I looked up at her through my eyelashes, her eyes were closed and lips parted and swollen, her breathing was raged and her back slightly arching off the bed. Feeling me stop she looked down at me, nodding her head.

I continued further down, kissing around her waist, hips and the band of her thong. Looping my fingers into either side, I slowly pulled it down. Rose looked away as she was now completely bare to me. I took in her full naked form, she was the most heavenly creature I have ever seen.

"absolyutno krasivyy"(absolutely beautiful), my voice was husky, dripping of lust and desire.

I didn't think it was possible for my cock to get any harder, but as it twitched in its confines, I found out it was. I wanted to kiss and touch every part of her, so I did. Starting another trail of kisses up her leg, to her inner thigh, then switching to her left leg, I repeated the process. When I came back up, I watched my Roza's face. She was nervous, so was I. I didn't know how to do this, I was just going with it and pray she would like it.

"Rose, I am going to kiss you there, is that okay?" I wanted to make sure she was comfortable, if she wasn't, I would stop, no matter how badly I wanted it.

"Yes." she croaked out, her voice was so clouded I barely heard her.

I placed a few more kisses to her inner thigh before coming to kiss her mound, right above her soft curls. She squirmed, I pulled back, maybe she didn't want this after all. Then she laughed, I was confused.

"What did I do?" I asked, I don't know what look my face held, but she found something hilarious.

"Nothing, it just tickles." she laughed harder, "I'm sorry, keep going."

Shaking my head and focusing back to my task, my fingers found her slit, she was so wet. Slowly I dragged my fingers up and down her folds, coating them in her luscious fluid. Moving my lips down, I found her clit and place the softest kiss on top, she let out a loud moan. Okay, I must be doing something right. I ran my tongue from the bottom, pressing it into her folds, all the way back to her bundle of nerves and pulled it in between my lips, giving it a little suck.

"Fuck, Dimitri." I smirked against her. Just wait Roza, it's going to get better. I moved one finger to her opening, looking back up at her again, silently making sure she was ready. With a small nod, I slid my finger inside her, painfully slow. She gasped out at the foreign feeling, I pumped in and out a few times before another finger. God, she was tight, I knew she would be, but damn.

Scissoring my fingers inside, curling them up against her wall she bucked her hips against me, moaning my name. I put my arm over her hips to hold her in place. My tongue found her clit again, I began slowly circling it, adjusting the pressure each time, trying to find what she like the feeling of most. The sweet taste dancing on my tongue drove me insane, I have never tasted anything as divine as her. I felt her legs start to shake against me, my fingers still working inside her, I wondered how she would react to my tongue there? I gave it a try, pulling my fingers she whimpered at the loss, replacing them with my tongue and using my thumb to massage her. I got the reaction I had hoped for.

"Fuck, Dimitri...I..I am….Oh god." I drove my fingers back in, pounding in and out at a rapid pace.

"Let go, Roza. Cum for me, milaya." I licked her clit again and that was her undoing.

She arched off the bed as I felt her clamp down around my fingers. She screamed out my name, I felt pretty proud of myself. I continued to pump my fingers in and out, while my tongue assaulted her clit until she begged me to stop. She was squirming up the bed, as I rode it out for her. Her breathing heavy and labored. I pulled my fingers out and sucked on them, locking my eyes on hers. She grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

Holy shit, that is all I can say, and it gets better than that! Dimitri made me cum for the first time and I swear I was in heaven. The high I was riding on right now was the best thing in the world. I don't know where or how he learned that, but I could care less right now. Why did we wait so long for this?

"Dimitri, that was...I can't even describe it."

"We can stop now if you want, Roza."

"Oh no, we are not stopping." I sat up and captured his lips in a heated forceful kiss. A sweet taste mingled with his normal one. That taste was me, it was oddly arousing to taste myself on his lips. I pushed him down onto the bed and followed what he had done to me. Kissing down his jaw, neck, chest and abdomen. I grabbed the sides of his boxers and slowly pulled down. His erection sprung free and I had to stop for a moment.

I looked up at Dimitri, he chuckled at me, "Not what you were expecting, or more?"

"How is that even supposed to fit?" I was really trying to figure that out, I had a slight idea about the average size of a mans penis, and Dimitri, well he was definitely above average.

"It will, but we can stop it your scared." his tone was so full of love, I knew if I said no at any point he would stop, but how can I stop now. After what he did for me, no, I started this, I would finish it.

I shook my head, trying to hide my nervousness from him as I continued to pull his boxers all the way off. I placed my hand around it, I couldn't close it all the way, not helping my fear right now. I pumped up and down a few times, running my thumb over the tip, spreading the precum. I watched his face to make sure I was doing it right and adjusted the pressure until I heard him growl, that's where he likes it.

Bringing my head down, "Roza, you don't have to." I stopped.

"Oh, but I _want_ to, Comrade." I gave him my maneater smile and took the tip in my mouth, he let out a loud earthy moan. I took as much of him as I could, using my hand to stimulate the part that wouldn't fit. As I came back up, I ran my tongue around his tip, dipping into his hole, before going back down again. Lissa told me, _"treat it like your sucking on a popsicle, just don't bite it."_ I had laughed when she told me, but she was right.

He was gripping the sheets, desperately trying to hold himself back from grabbing my head. I reached over and grabbed he hand, moving it into my hair. I wanted him to guide me through this, I knew he wouldn't be forceful, but I wanted him to enjoy it.

"Roza, that feels so...soo good."

There was a slightly salty taste on him, I wanted to know what _he_ tasted like though. I started to move faster, gripping him a little tighter. He started rocking his hips and I could feel his sack getting tighter, was that a good thing?

"Rose, I'm about to..pull up baby." Yeah, that wasn't happening, I cummed on his mouth, he was cumming in mine. I sank back down, taking more of him this time and I felt him start to pulse.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck...Roza", he drug out my name as his seed spilled down my throat. I had to swallow a few times to take it all, a little still leaked out the corner of my mouth. Drinking him in and with one last hard suck up his cock, I let it go with a "pop". Licking my lips, I took in my lovers face. I don't know that I have ever seen such a look on him.

He pulled me back up to him, flipping so I was under him again, carefully holding his weight off of me.

"You are the most amazing woman in the world, do you know that?" he said.

I laughed, "You have told me a time or two."

"I love you, Roza."

"I love you too, Dimitri."

He brought his lips back down to mine, tasting ourselves on each others lips. This kiss was slow, passionate, full of pure love. I could feel him harden against my thigh, I chuckled.

"Ready for more already, Comrade."

"I am always ready for you." he pulled back all of sudden.

"What, what's wrong?"

"We don't have any condoms. I didn't pack any, I can run downstairs."

"No, you don't have to. I started taking birth control three months ago." I wanted to make sure they were working properly before the wedding, knowing it wouldn't be long before we started having sex.

"God, beautiful and smart, what did I ever do to deserve you."

"I don't know, I am still trying to figure it out myself." I giggled and he leaned in to kiss me again.

"Are you sure your ready?"

"Yes, will you please stop asking, I want you, I need you." I loved that he wanted to be a hundred percent sure I was ready before we took this step, but right now I wanted nothing more than to have him inside me. His fingers were amazing and his tongue, oh god, I could only imagine how good his cock would feel.

He gripped his shaft and ran the tip up and down my slick folds, coating it in my juice. He paused at my opening, looking into my eyes for one last confirmation. I nodded. I tried not to tense, I knew it was going to hurt, so I needed to stay as relaxed as possible. At a snail's pace, he pushed inside of me. We were finally one, connected in the most personal way possible. The feeling was weird, my canal stretched to accommodate him, I could feel him filling me. Inch by glorious inch he moved back and forward, till he hit the wall. Here it comes.

"I am sorry, Roza" he kissed my nose and slammed forward.

A tear escaped my eye, it hurt, but it was a blissful pain. I wasn't only tearing up at the pain, but also because I have given the most precious thing I own away. Granted, I had given it to my husband, the only man I will ever love, but there was still something so emotional about it. He wiped the tear from my eye and kept watching me. After a moment, the pain started to go away, I moved my hips to let him know I was ready. He pulled back and moved forward again, still at a slow pace. After few times and the pain was completely gone, now it felt good, like really good.

He picked up the pace, but it was still slow, granted, it felt amazing, but I wanted more friction. Grabbing one of my legs and wrapping it around his hip, pushing him deeper, hitting that perfect angle and spot. I can't even describe how it felt.

"Fuck." I moaned out, as he slid deeper each time.

"Damn Roza, you are so tight and wet, Fuck you feel so good."

"Faster, Dimitri, please." I reached one hand around his neck, fisting his hair, my other went to his muscled back, my nails digging into his flesh.

"I don't know how long I can hold out if I go harder Rose, I want you to cum again before I do." He was battling to hold himself back, I could see his hunger for release.

"Dimitri, please, faster." I begged, still pushing against him, meeting each thrust with my own.

Bringing my head up I captured his lips, thrusting my tongue into his. I didn't think it was possible for him to go any deeper, but he did, as he moved at a frantic pace now. He started rubbing me with his right hand, his left still holding his weight. I felt the now familiar coil in my lower stomach, I was close. All my heat and senses rushed to my core.

"Harder…. Dimitri…. I….Yes baby."

"Cum with me, Roza." He thrusted two more times, harder and deeper than before.

I did as he said, I felt my walls clamp down and my body pulsed with the orgasam. A fire exploded from my core, radiating throughout my body.

"Oh God, YES!" he screamed out, I felt him let go, his seed filling me, milking him for every last drop.

 *******End M Scene********

* * *

Collapsing on top of me, we stayed connected for a few more moments, both trying to catch our breaths. He gently pulled out and rolled off onto his back, I curled up to his side, resting my head on his chest, I could hear his heart beating rapidly. If I could describe the feeling I had at this very moment, I would, but honestly it was too good to describe. Like finding out you won the lottery or the cure for cancer, simply amazing. My skin was still burning at every point our bodies touched. I could feel the moisture on my thighs, looking down, his cock was still twitching slightly, slick and glistening with my arousal on him. I could see a tent of red there too, blood. We would both need another shower.

I rolled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. It ached to move and walk, but I knew that wouldn't last long and it was a reminder of the love we had just made.

"Are you okay, Roza?"

"Yeah, just need to shower again. Care to join me?"

"I would love too, but that shower is way to small for both of us. I'm gonna run to the spa real quick."

I nodded, he was right, I could reach the opposite wall with my back to the other, stupid cruise ship showers. Oh well, we can do that when we get home.

I stood under the hot spray for fifteen minutes, my mind running through each touch, kiss. Why had I been so worried about this? Dimitri was always gentle and loving, why was I so scared? I didn't ponder on those thoughts too long though, we had finally crossed that barrier in our relationship, I for one, was extremely happy about it.

When I got out, Dimitri was back on the bed, still naked on top of the covers. I felt my body heat up again. Every part of me wanted him, over and over again. I could see a pink spot on the bed covers, evidence of my purity being taken. I felt bad for our steward, though I am sure he has seen worse than this.

"Let's not sleep under that tonight." I said pointing to the blanket.

"He followed my look, "Yea, we can get a new one tomorrow." He pulled it off the bed, "I am sorry for hurting you."

"It's okay, there is nothing you could have done to not make that hurt, besides it was more than worth it." I gave him a full smile and kissed his forehead.

We laid back down, neither of us put clothes back on. It was exhilarating to lay next to him with absolutely nothing between us. He pulled the sheets up and I molded to his side.

I fell into the best sleep of my entire life.

* * *

Authors Note:

So how did I do? Too much, not enough for a first time? Be honest, please. I don't intend to have many smut scenes in here, there will be a few but not alot.

Question of the Chapter: If you could redo your first time, would you?

Me personally, I wouldn't, he was more experienced than I was, so it wasn't bad at all.


	32. Pt 3: Ch 4: Look How Far We've Come

_**Part 3: Chapter 4: Look How Far We've Come**_

 _ **RPOV**_

After that night, Dimitri and I couldn't keep away from each other. Friday we were in Cozumel, Mexico, we spent a grand total of two hours walking around looking at all the shops before turning back to the boat and spending the day in our cabin. We didn't venture out of the basics, but it was still amazing nonetheless.

Tonight was our last night on the ship, we would be porting back in Galveston early in the morning. We went to dinner in the Steak House, best cut of steak I have ever eaten. Now we were on the Serenity deck, the adult only area, laying on a hammock looking at the nights sky.

I stayed silent, thinking back to all that happened in the last year. I guess I should fill you all in on that, shouldn't I. Well, for starters, after they won the series, Dad stayed on as their coach. He bought a beautiful house in Nashville that all of us were now living in. Dad, Pavel, Dimitri, Ivan, Vika and myself, thats a lot of people in one house, even if it is huge. We had to hire a housekeeper, with all of us going to Vanderbilt full time, we had no time to cook or clean. Except for weekends, Pavel and Dimitri cooked together every Saturday and Sunday.

Did you catch that, we are all going to Vanderbilt. I tried my hand at getting a record deal, sending my demos to multiple different labels. All I got back were emails or phone calls saying to keep trying, that I was young but had potential. Which may be true, but it still didn't boost my confidence much. So I was now attending college full time, Majoring in Business like I had promised. Turns out, I am pretty good with most of the management aspects, accounting was rough, but Dad and Dimitri were helping me there.

Liss followed Christian, to UT Austin and they are renting a little apartment on the outside of the city. Mason and Eddie went to UT Arlington and are completing their Criminal Justice Degrees this year. They took extra classes over the summer to cut down their school time. They both wanted to apply for the Dallas Police Department when they graduated. Mia and Jill graduated, the former leaving for LA and breaking poor Mason's heart. Jill was offered a modeling job in Dallas, her and Eddie are still going strong. Adrian and Sydney moved to Rome, he is now working in an art gallery, while she is studying.

The guys didn't make it to the Series last year, but are looking good right now. Since it's their Senior year, we will be seeing a lot more scouts at the games and even around practice. Dad has pulled many favors to get some Rangers scouts to watch them this season. Joey, we were now on first name basis, had put in some good words to his coaches as well.

Ivan was being looked at for catcher, of course. He had gotten his stats up last season and is doing really well. Dimitri, however, was not being looked at for pitcher, but first base. Much like with Joey, he has a great batting average and to keep him in a power player spot, he needed to be off the mound. So he and dad have been working on getting him used to first.

Dad and Dimitri were now almost inseparable. I never pictured them being so close, but I loved it. Dad has always seen Dimitri as his son, even before we were dating. Now that it is official, I don't want to know what those two will get into. Pavel finally found him a girlfriend, she teaches my economics class, he is totally smitten with her.

All in all, we were all doing pretty well.

Oh, I almost forgot, you remember Ben. Well, let me tell you about that. He started dating some old friend of his, things were going good for a while. Last March, he showed up in Nashville, out of the blue, looking for me. Well, he found Dimitri instead. We stayed in touch up until this point, checking in with each other a few times a month, nothing to serious, but we still confided in each other with issues we were dealing with. When Dimitri found him, he didn't realize who it was until Ben started asking about me. Of course Dimitri wouldn't tell him anything, but later that week he saw Ben walking near our house. I never told him where I lived, so flags went up for all of us. Let's just say I haven't heard from him since Dimitri and Ivan walked outside to have a chat with him. I was sad at first, I really enjoyed his friendship, but the whole time, he was reading into more than I was.

"Roza, you about ready for bed?" Dimitri asked pulling me out of my random thoughts of the night.

"Yeah, we have to be up early and have a long drive home."

We made our way down the three flights of stairs to our cabin. I was sad to be going home, this week has been unbelievable. Not only the sex, but just being out here, away from the hussle and bussle of the world. Here there was no cell phones, no technology at all, nothing but each other and the wide open ocean. Plus, we made several friends around the ship, well more me than him, I hoped to stay in contact with some of them.

I took a quick shower in the room, while Dimitri went to the spa showers. I think that is what he will miss most, he really liked it. It was huge, with what I called, a car wash set up. Shower heads lined the walls coming out in every direction, you didn't even have to move and it would hit every spot.

I crawled into bed with only one of his T-shirts on and started to drift to sleep. I heard the door open, but didn't move. Feeling the bed dip and his arm wrap my waist to pull me to him, I let a sigh of content. I loved sleeping with him every night, something about being wrapped in his arms, safe from everything, I slept better.

I felt his weight shift again, then the feather light kisses start on my shoulder, working his way up to my neck, finally my lips. My body started to react, but I was tired,, I really just wanted sleep. We made love twice during the day, I was exhausted from the week and we really did have to be up early.

"Comrade, not now, I love you, but I'm tired." I smiled against his lips.

He groaned and rolled over, giving a huff of dismay. "Fine!"

I smacked his arm, "Don't be a baby, like you keep saying, we have the rest of our lives, you will survive tonight."

"I know, Roza, it's just so damn hard to not want you every minute of the day. Now that I've had you, I never want to stop." He chuckled and kissed my lips one last time before laying on his back.

I rolled to curl into his side, laying my head on his heart, listening to the steady beat. He put one arm around my back over my ribs, the other behind his head.

"I feel the same way, but we have a long day tomorrow. When we get home I promise to make it up to you." I laughed and kissed his chest.

"I don't know about that, we live with your father, remember? I am not sure how I feel about having sex with you, with him next door."

"You'll get over it. Good night, Comrade."

"Good Night, Roza."

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Just for the record, I _do not_ recommend driving to Galveston if you live outside of Texas. I had forgotten just how big the state was. It took sixteen hours to get home, about half of which was simply going through Texas. Granted, we did drive up to Arlington to stop and see Mama and the family, adding the extra 3 hours to the trip, but still. Plus, it was totally worth it, Mama made Black bread.

Once we were home, Rose and I both crashed into bed. We took turns with the drive, catching little naps here and there, but sleep was a necessity right now. The honeymoon went better than I could have ever hoped for. With Rose and I now connecting on a physical level, the amount of relaxation I was able to do and simply spending a week of undivided attention with my Wife. I was on cloud nine, if only we could have stayed another week or two. But, as life would have it, we had responsibilities. Since the wedding took place during the semester, we both had homework to catch up on and with midterms coming up, we had to crack down.

I woke early the next morning, per the usual, Rose was still passed out. I slowly got out of bed and made my way down to the kitchen. Abe and Pavel were both already dressed for the day, drinking coffee and tea at the breakfast bar.

"Good Morning, Dimitri. How was your week?" Abe asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Amazing, we had a blast, I didn't want to come back." I laughed.

"Nothing new to report?"

"Nope." I said with a smirk. There is no way I am discussing this with him, no matter how close we have gotten.

"Good boy." he laughed, "Did she enjoy it?"

"Really? Can we not do this, Abe."

"I just want to make sure you took care of her."

"She was well taken care of." I smiled, "Now, what time is practice today?" I needed the subject changed, now.

"Four. We have two Rangers scouts coming down today. They really want to see you play a few positions, they think you would be a great utility player. Can handle moving around a bit?"

"Sure, I don't have any classes today, I will probably go back to sleep here soon. That drive killed me."

"I didn't think you would do it straight, I figured you guys would stop in Arlington for a night."

"No, we went through and saw my family, but we wanted to get back here. I need to jump back in to practice and school, midterms are coming and I need to be on my A game all year to get a good deal."

"Don't push yourself, Son. Let your talent speak for itself."

"I know. Oh, I brought something for you, well from Mama." I handed him his loaf of bread.

"Your mother is a Saint!" he laughed.

"That she is, that she is."

* * *

" _Damn it!"_ I cursed in Russian. I have over swung on every pitch in the last five minutes, my timing was way off and this is not looking good in front of the scouts. Add on the fact that I couldn't even field a ground ball or make a play at first, today was not going well at all.

"Belikov!" Abe bellowed out across the field. Shit, I didn't think I said it loud enough for him to hear. He hated when I cussed on the field, no matter what language I chose.

One thing I admired about Abe the most, he knew when to be a Coach and when to be a Dad. He didn't ride me harder than anyone else, but he surely didn't go easy on me either. We had a perfect balance, on the field he was purely my coach. We didn't discuss home or Rose, nothing but the game. At home, we never talked about how good or bad I was doing. Other than like when I asked about practice times, like this morning, we didn't talk about baseball at all.

"Belikov, did you not hear me! Get over here, _now!"_ I was in trouble.

"Yes, Sir?"

"What is going on with you? You haven't hit a single pitch yet, and you know I don't tolerate that language on my field."

"I am sorry, I don't know what's going on. I just feel sluggish I guess, I didn't mean to swear."

"I'm sure," he rolled his eyes, Rose was rubbing off on him, "You can think about it while you run ten laps. Now. See me when your done." he turned back to talking with another player.

"Yes, Sir." I took off.

Like I said, he knew when to be a Coach and when to be Dad. I didn't mind, I preferred it that way, but right now, it didn't matter. My mind was somewhere else and I needed to focus. As I ran, I tried to figure out what is causing me to be so off. Maybe I am still on island time, my body hasn't realized that relaxation time is over and it needed to work. Maybe it's the thoughts of Rose, naked, withering beneath me, moaning my name, still fresh in my memory. Maybe the thought of having two scouts from Texas here watching me, adding pressure to do well. There were so many possible reasons, but one thing I knew for sure. It needed to stop and quick.

Coming around on my last lap, I let all thoughts that were not baseball related go. I focused in on what I needed to do, what I had to do. I grabbed my water bottle and made my way back toward Abe.

"Are you ready to play or do you need to keep running?" he asked with a stern look.

"No, Sir, I am ready."

"Good, get your glove, you will be going to third for the time being." he said, not even looking at me anymore. Did I really make him that upset?

"Yes, Sir." I did as I was told.

We scrimmaged with the underclassman. No real challenge there, but still good for practice. My first throw to first was off by about a foot, lucky that Caden was able to scoop it and still get the out. After that I was doing better, few good plays, one diving catch and two line outs. Not bad. I had never played third before, so being on this side of the diamond was different.

I moved to first halfway through the game, I preferred it over third. My height and reach came in handy, I was able to make catches that were thrown high or outside, easily.

My batting picked back up as well, I had three base hits and one home run, no strikeouts. I felt good, I guess I just needed a kick in the ass to get my mind set. We played another three rounds before Abe called practice to an end. After speaking to the team, he looked at me, he didn't even have to say anything, I knew I was still in trouble.

Switching to Russian, he drilled me.

"What the hell was going on earlier? You have never played that bad in all the time I have known you! I went through hell to get these scouts here to watch you and that's what you show them!" he was yelling, I actually flinched, Abe is not the man to piss off, yet, I did.

"I said I was sorry! I don't know why I was off. I spent the whole time running trying to clear my head of everything, but the game. I came back and played well afterwards. I get that your mad, but can you lighten up a bit?"

"You should have been playing well from the beginning. You know, they wanted to leave, watching you miss every fucking play and said I should have saved my time! Not only does that infuriate me because you are my player, but even more so because you are my Son! I had to convince them that you were better than this, that this was just an off day. There are a lot of things I can tolerate, Dimitri, embarrassing me, is not one of them."

"I'm sorry, what else do you want me to do?" I felt like I was apologizing way too often today, but I didn't know what to do at this point. I played well for the second half, I was focused, what more did he want?

"I want you to succeed!" he bellowed.

"I know, that's why past three years I have done nothing but work on getting better. I have spent every spare moment in the gym or on the field practicing! I am trying, Abe, but I'm not perfect."

"You definitely showed that today." he scoffed, that hurt. "Get you head on straight or don't show up next time, understood?"

Since I was young I have always wanted to prove that I could do something with my life. I have worked twice as hard as everyone else. Most of all, I wanted to prove to him that I could do it. Seeing him disappointed in me, embarrassed by me, I was ashamed. I have never felt so small in my life, hell I was six foot seven, I was even over Abe by a few inches. Right now, I felt like I was an ant, one that just got stepped on.

"Yes, Sir. Understood."

"Good, give me ten more laps. I will see you at home." he walked away.

I headed off around the field, again, catching Ivan's look of pity as I ran. He heard everything I am sure, hell everyone had, granted, no one else would understand him, but Ivan did. I shook my head at him and continued running.

How did I go from feeling on top of the world after our honeymoon, to this? I understood that I wasn't at my best earlier, I should have played better, but it was only practice. Granted I know, "practice makes perfection" but I am not allowed to have one bad day? I have killed myself since my freshman year, training everyday, even off season, to get better. I have worked so hard to get where I am now, but it wasn't good enough. Abe made it clear that he was not happy with me right now, I didn't like it.

When I got home, I could hear Rose from outside.

"Ivan told me what you said to him! You may be his Coach but your still his Dad! He looks up to you, how can you yell at him like that! You're just as bad as Randall!"

Hearing his name, I flinched, surprisingly, so did Abe. I never would have expected her to ever compare them.

"Rosemarie, we will not discuss this." Abe's voice was calm, but I could see the anger building again. "What happens on my field, stays there. When I am there, I am his coach, that is all. I went through hell to get them to come see him and he blew it. They barely stuck around and were surprised he could play at all. They may not sign him now, is that what you want?"

"Of course not, but I want you to support him, not put him down. Who cares if the Rangers don't want him, there are plenty of teams out there that would, but you just had to crush him!"

I had to step in, this wasn't going to end well.

"Roza, it's fine. Abe was doing the right thing, he was being my Coach and treating me like any other player. I am fine, love."

"No, it's not!", she yelled, I haven't seen here this mad in a long time.

"Yes, milaya, it is." I put my arms around her waist, looking deep into those fiery brown eyes, keeping my voice low, "I am okay, I needed a swift kick in the ass. I could have blown my shot today, or any day, I need him to be hard on me. I promise, everything is fine."

I could see the fire dimming, her breathing started to even out. I kissed her hair and wrapped her tight to my body. After a few deep breaths, she was completely calm. I loved how I could do that, just my touch pulled the anger out of her.

"What's for dinner?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

I sat in my office, replaying the day over and over again in my head. I felt awful, I have never yelled like that before, well not to someone I love at least. Then Rose, she compared me to _him_. That was a slap in the face, though I tried hard to hide the sting in her words, I don't think I did very well. I was nothing like him, I loved my family, treated them with dignity and pushed them to achieve greatness.

I had called fifteen different scouts over the last week. None of them wanted to come out to look at a few seniors, when the season hadn't even started. I wanted them to see that they stayed tip top all year round. I called another five over the weekend, only two were willing to come. I had to offer a lot to get the Rangers out here, hotel accommodations, tickets, hell even using my business as a sponsor for them.

He freaking blew it and I was angry.

When they told me it was a waste of time for a kid like him, I wanted to beat the living daylights out of them. According to them, Dimitri was nothing. They didn't know he was my Son, they didn't know how hard he has worked to be the best. He was having an off day was all, it happens. I knew I should have waited a few weeks after the honeymoon, let him get back into it, but it was the only time they would agree to.

I almost begged them, I don't beg for anything, to stay. I wanted them to stick around a bit longer and see that he really had the potential and would be a great asset to their team. I knew he wanted to play for them, Rose too. If he could sign to Texas, we can all go home. Not that we weren't happy here, but it wasn't home. Plus, the memory of Janine coming here and spending her last months of life in this house, well I wanted nothing more than to leave it.

Thankfully, before they left they had realized he had what it takes, but still could use a lot of work. That's why I was so hard on him, he needed to know what it will take to make it. Doesn't mean I felt good about it, but it needed to be done.

A knocking at my door disrupted my inner battle, "Yes?"

"Dad, can we talk?"

"Come in, Dimitri." he took a seat across from me, hands folded in front, elbows resting on his knees.

"Look, I know I messed up today, you went through a lot to get the scouts and I blew it. I know that. I will make it up to you, I will work everyday, twice as hard, to prove it." I heard the determination in his voice. I never doubted he would.

"I know you will. I told you this morning not to push yourself too hard, I meant that. You have the talent, Dimitri, you can and will go far. If you slack off though, it will cause problems down the road. Keep up the way you have been for the last three years and you will be fine."

He nodded his head along while I spoke.

"One more thing, I am sorry for yelling at you. It was uncalled for, I was angry at the scouts for writing you off and I took it out on you."

"Ibrahim Mazur….apologizing….to me...Wow!" he laughed.

"Don't get used to it." I chuckled, "Let me tell you something. It may piss you off or it may not come as a shock." I took a deep breath, "The I made Randall leave." he nodded, "He told me you all were worthless, the whole family, but mainly you. He never believed you would amount to anything in life. He wrote you off."

I could see the anger building in his eyes, he was trying to hide it, but after years of bonding, I could see.

"You're right," he cleared his throat, "It's not a shock."

"That's what upset me most today, when they said that, I was transported back in time to that night. I told Randall that one day, you would prove him wrong, one day you would be extraordinary. That was actually the first night I ever referred to you as my son."

"What?" he looked confused, I didn't blame him.

"I knew from the start that you and Rose would be together. You two were inseparable as children and only got closer as you got older. I could see the young love blooming before you ever realized it. The way she looked at you that night, I knew, you would be together forever. I'm glad I was right. Anyways, I told him he will never speak to my son that way again. He laughed and told me I could have you, all I could say, was that I gladly would." I never planned to tell him about mine and Randall's conversation that night. The bastard destroyed his family, took everything for granted. Olena had done an amazing job raising her children, but a father is something you can never replace. I tried to step in and do what a real man should, but I knew it wasn't the same.

"I told you...I wanted you as a Dad." his voice was low, filled with pain.

"I promised to always be there. I will, but right now, you don't need me as a Dad, you need me as a Coach."

"Thank You. For everything, I can never repay you."

"You have already done more than you realize, Son." he looked up. "You have protected and loved my daughter like a man should. You have proven you are not your father, that is all the payment I need. Keep her happy and love her always."

"I will." he cleared his throat again, "So, practice tomorrow?"

"Four pm. Bring your A game." I smiled.


	33. Part 3: Chapter 5: Whisper

_**Sorry it took me a few days to get this up, it has been a hectic few days and I wanted to add something more. I went ahead and updated the rating on the story, I spoke to several other authors on here to get their input and they assured me I was fine leaving it. But I changed it anyways, so, since I did, you lucky people will get more M scenes. They will still be marked for those who chose not to read them.**_

 _ **As always R &R and follow me on facebook for updates and pictures. **_

_**I do not own Dimitri or VA, I can hope and dream thought, Right?**_

* * *

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 5: Whisper**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Rose, Abe and myself all sat down after the fights and talked about how things would be from here on out. Abe and I always preferred he be a Coach on the field and a Dad at home, but Rose wasn't happy with that arrangement.

"I just don't understand, why can't you be both all the time? Wouldn't it help more in the long run for you to treat him the same no matter what?" she asked.

"No, Kiz, you don't understand, if I treated him like a Son on the field, he would slack, then as a coach I would get mad. So to keep from being conflicted between which roles we need to play, we keep it seperate."

"Okay, I get that, kinda, but I don't want you treating him like a failure, ever. I don't care how badly he messes up, you need to support him, whether it's as his dad or coach, it doesn't matter, but you need to be there for him."

"Roza, Abe has always been there, we have this arrangement because it is what works. Keeping our relationship at home seperate makes it easier. How about we just say that we won't get angry like we did yesterday. If something happens we will sit down and talk about it, either as Father/Son or Player/Coach, would that work for you?"

"I agree with Dimitri, I did lose my head yesterday and should have handled it differently. I think that would be best for everyone. Though, I will still make you work to be the best, no matter what."

"I wouldn't want it any other way. Rose, are you happy with this?"

"I guess. I don't understand completely why you have to keep it seperate, maybe it's just because I have never had to deal with it, but as long as you two keep getting along, I am fine. I am sorry for yelling, both of you."

"You were standing up for your husband, you don't have to apologize for that, Kiz."

"No, but I didn't have to say what I did either." she looked down, she never believed Abe was anything like Randall, but in the heat of a moment, harsher words couldn't have been spoken.

"It's okay, I understand you were just angry. Why do you think I tell you both to walk away if your mad at the other, you will say things you later regret." Abe said looking at both of us.

"We know." I wrapped one arm around Rose's waist and kissed her head. "I have to get ready for class, I will see you both later."

After we all talked, things had been going better. Abe was still drilling me on the field, but not out of anger, he was pushing me to be the best. Every time I missed a play or struck out, I had to run laps, well the whole team did. The entire team had to run if someone messed up, the whole, "one bad seed ruins an apple", thing. He demanded perfection from us, after a few weeks, we stopped having to run.

We were insync with each other, we could communicate without saying a single word. At this rate, we would be unbeatable this year. Ivan and I, as well as a few other Seniors, wanted to make it back to the Series. Our team this year was solid, we had a really good chance at making it and going all the way again.

Practice was over for today, I was waiting on Ivan so we could head home. Christmas break has officially started and I was in desperate need of some quality time with my Wife.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

"Is everything set?" I asked Olena over the phone.

" _Yes, your father just sent me all the information. We will be there tomorrow at three."_

"Okay, so I will pick you all up and Ivan will have the guest room ready. Pavel said you and Yeva can share his room, he is spending the break with his new girlfriend."

" _They still don't know we are coming, do they?"_

"Where's the fun in that?" I laughed.

We were on Christmas break starting tomorrow and Dimitri and Viktoria were both extremely home sick. I thought having each other here, it wouldn't be so bad, but they both have been missing their Mama and family. So Dad and I, bought plane tickets for everyone and they would be here tomorrow. Ivan was taking Vika out to dinner and Dad was taking Dimitri for some Father/Son bonding time. When they got home, the family would be here waiting.

" _Either way, we are just happy to be able to visit. Having them both gone has been hard." Olena whispered on the line._

"I know, they feel it too. We all do." I heard the front door open, "Dimitri's home, I gotta go, I love you, Mama. I'll see you at the airport."

" _Love you, too, Roza."_

Keeping this from him has been exhausting. I hated having to lie to him whenever he would ask who I was talking to, but it was necessary. I jumped down from the counter and acted like I was just doing the dishes.

"Good evening, Milaya. Did you have a good day?" he asked, walking up and wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

I leaned back into his embrace, "Yeah, I feel good about my last final and now we have three weeks off. How was your day?"

"Better now." he kissed the top of my head and walked to grab a towel to dry the dishes. "My last final was hell and your loving father kicked my ass at practice."

"You are the one that insisted on the field he is just your Coach, you knew he wouldn't go easy on you." I laughed.

"I know, I think he was trying to shove an extra three weeks of "Coaching Time" into today, though. I am so glad we are finally on break, I need it."

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" I already knew, but he didn't know that.

"Bonding time, which if you ask me is ridiculous. Do we not already spend enough time together?" he laughed.

"Yes, but most of that isn't as family." finishing the dishes, I wrapped my arms around his neck, jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist as he set me back on the counter.

"I guess, but I would much rather stay home and spend the day with you." his accent deepend as he placed kisses along my neck and gripped my hips roughly. I moaned and pressed my body closer to his.

Someone cleared their throat and Dimitri sprung back, I immediately felt the loss.

"Can you not do that where we eat, Kizim? You have a room, you know."

"Yes, I know." I rolled my eyes, "How was your day, Baba?"

"Very well, thank you. Do we have dinner plans or fending for ourselves tonight."

"Fending for ourselves. Suzanne took off this afternoon when I got home. She was looking forward to her vacation, so I let her go early."

Ivan and Vika walked in then, "What's for dinner?" Ivan asked.

"Chinese sounds good." Dimitri said.

Everyone nodded in agreeance. "Any request?"

"Just order our usual, we can save any leftovers for lunch tomorrow." Dad instructed.

"Can you get some extra cream puff things, I love those." Vika asked.

"Usual with extra cream puffs, anything else?"

No one spoke, so I grabbed our marked menu and called in.

With dinner wrapping up, Dad let us know he had some errands to run, he would be gone for a few hours. Vika and Ivan gave each other a saucy look, Dimitri and I shared the same. Dad just laughed and shook his head.

"Have fun, kids." he yelled as he walked out the door.

He wasn't running errands, we all knew that, but he always gave us at least one or two nights a month to have the house to ourselves. Dimitri and Ivan both hated being intimate with him in the house. I personally don't see the issue with it, maybe it was because he was also their coach or father in law, but whatever. I was happy to get any time I could with Dimitri. Thankfully, our rooms were on opposite sides of the house, so we could never hear the other. Good thing too, Dimitri and I tended to be loud.

"Roza.." he started, his voice already deepening, hunger evident in his eyes as we walked in the bedroom. I already had my shirt off, I didn't like wasting time.

I ran my hands down his chest, to his stomach and pushed him toward the bed, a low growl started in his throat. Straddling his waist as he sat back, I brought my hands to the hem of his shirt and began to lift it. He grabbed my wrist before I could move it more than an inch.

"Comra..aaah" I yelped as he picked me up and flipped us over, now my back was flush against the soft quilt, his body hovering over me.

"You're not in control this time, Roza." his voice came out dark, carnal with desire, "You you will get what I want to give tonight."

I have never seen this side of him, but I liked it.

* * *

 _ *****Start M Scene*****_

He moved my hands above my head and captured me in the hottest kiss of my life. It wasn't slow and passionate, no, it was hard and full of hunger. Forcing my mouth open with his tongue, he took mine between his lips and sucked roughly. Moaning loudly, I arched off the bed, wanting more contact with his body.

He pushed his hips down, fully pinning me beneath him now, his growing erection pressed against my thigh. I wanted so badly to touch him, to wrap my legs around him, but I couldn't move.

Letting my mouth go, he moved down to my jaw, kissing and nipping down to my neck. When he got to the spot behind my ear, I couldn't help but squirm under him and whine. I wanted more, I needed more.

"I am going to make you scream, Roza." he whispered in my ear and suddenly pulled back.

I was breathing heavily now, not only from the promise of pleasure from him, but from the void my body felt when his left. Quickly, he discardged my jeans and panites, my bra left on for now. I automatically opened my legs, inviting him back to me, he wasted no time.

Moving between my legs, he ran his tongue over my already wet pussy, over my curls and stomach, until he reached my breast. Nipping at my nipples through the sheer lace fabric.

"Dimitri, PLEASE!" I whined, I hated when he went slow like this, it was always worth it in the end, but it has been a few weeks since we last made love, I needed him. Now!

"Patience, My Love." he cooed against my skin.

Bringing his lips back to mine, kissing me softly, his left hand went back to holding mine above my head, while his right caressed my side and hip. Fire spread through my body at every point he touched, I would never get used to it. The lightest touch from his always sparked something in me.

He licked my bottom lip as I felt his hand move over my mound, I granted him access immediately. Every stroke he made with his tongue against mine, he mimicked the movement with his fingers. Dipping the tip on one finger in my cunt, I lifted my hips, begging for more.

"Now, now, Roza, I am in control, remember?" his voice was dark again.

"Please, Dimitri."

"What do you want, love?"

"More." I let out in breathless whisper.

"More of what? This?" he asked, driving his finger deep into me, flicking my clit with his thumb.

"YES!" I cried out.

"As you wish, Roza." he whispered back into my ear, as he pounded my pussy, adding another finger with the first, while still rolling his thumb over my clit.

"FFUU…" he silenced my scream, crushing his mouth back to mine, plunging his tongue into my mouth and dominating me in every way possible.

My body began to tense, tightening around his assaulting fingers as I let go.

Riding out the orgasam, he pulled his fingers away and lifted off of me, grabbing my left leg and flipped me over onto my stomach, then pulled my hips into the air.

This was a new level of exposure to him, we haven't ventured out of a missionary position yet, I was excited and a little self conscience at the same time.

"Grab a pillow and put it under your chest." he ordered, this dominate side of him was very fucking sexy. He was always soft and loving toward me, this change in him was exhilarating. He took off his shirt and track pants, as I arranged myself.

Keeping my hands out in front of me, knees spread open so he would have the access he wanted. He pushed against my back, making my upper body lay down, he held my hips up. I expected to feel his hard member move into my dripping core, however, that is not what I got.

A cold air hit my hot sex, he was blowing on me. The hot and cold sensation radiated through my body, lighting it up and giving me chills at the same time. Where the fuck did he learn this shit? I didn't really have time to ponder on that question, because as soon as it crossed into my mind, his tongue ran up my folds, dipping into my cunt.

"Shit, Dimi...tri...ahhh" I moaned out.

His mouth felt cool against my burning flesh, I could hear him lapping at my fluids, drinking them in. Without warning, he shoved a finger inside me, returning his tongues attention to my swollen bundle of nerves. Another finger joined the first and soon a third followed. I couldn't help the screams that escaped my lips. I felt the coil in my lower stomach for the second time, feeling myself starting to tighten around his fingers. Then they were gone.

Gripping my thighs, he lifted my ass higher into the air, making my legs wrap around him. I was now leaning on my elbows, still face down into the bed. He slammed his rock hard cock in me.

"Holy FUCK!" I yelled. I don't think he has ever gone that deep before.

"I told you I would make you scream." he smacked my ass and began driving into me, harder than he ever has before.

It hurt, not a lot, but it was defiantly different than anything else I have felt with him. I knew if I told him it hurt he would stop, but I really didn't want him too. This was the best sex we have had so far.

With every thrust his sack slapped against my clit, stimulating me further until I couldn't hold on any longer. I started to tighten up again, screaming and chanting his name like a prayer. He drove once, twice and a third time, I came undone.

"YES, YES, YES!" I bellowed, he pulled out of me, quickly flipping me over and drove back in, riding out my orgasam.

"I love watching you cum, Roza." he kissed my lips lightly, "Ready for more?"

More? Normally we went once, cumming together and that was it. I nodded, unsure of how my voice would sound right now. He pulled back out and motioned for me to scoot back on the bed. He kneeled in the middle, leaning back on his heels and pulled me up.

"Put your legs on either side." I did as he instructed. Grabbing his still solid shaft, he glided back into me. This position was just as deep as the last, but it didn't hurt.

"God, Roza, you are so fucking tight."

"You're so damn big, Dimitri. I love how deep this is."

"I figured you might." he smirked. Reaching behind me, he undid the clasp on my bra, finally letting the girls free for his appreciation.

He took my left in his mouth and I began rocking my hips. The angle of this was amazing, hitting my G spot with every move I made. Running my fingers against his scalp and fisting his hair, I pushed my chest further against his face, he growled into me. He moved over to pay equal attention to the right, as I picked up the pace, rocking with me now, doubling the ecstacy I was in.

"Rose, I'm close, can you cum for me baby?"

I pushed faster, harder as he gripped my hips and guided me. I was getting closer, but I didn't know if I would let go before him. I reached down with one hand to stimulate my clit, while he continued to guide me, my other hand gripping his shoulder. His eyes moved to watch me play with myself, the look in his eyes showed me how much he enjoyed that.

"FUCK, I am about to bust, Rose, come on, cum with me."

"I am…. almost there, keep going...don't…..don't stop."

"Damn it..Rose...Cum...Fuck!" I felt his cock pulsing inside of me, that pushed me over the edge.

"I'm….God Yes!"

 _ ******END M SCENE******_

* * *

I leaned back, he followed collapsing on top of me. We had never gone for that long before, like I said, it was usually one and done, but not today, he gave me three orgasms! Coming down from the high, I thought again, where the fuck did he learn that? I didn't want to ask right now, I would at some point, but right now I just wanted to enjoy this.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Watching Rose stimulate herself, I couldn't hold back any longer. That was by far, the sexiest thing I have ever watched. I rolled off of her and headed to the bathroom. I was sticky with sweat and both of our fluids, I needed to clean up. Without a word, Rose followed, this was the normal routine.

Abe would run his "errands" and us kids, well we would commence our love in his absence. I just couldn't think of doing it with him in the house. Having the mobster father in law down the hall while I ravished his daughter, yeah, I couldn't do it. Ivan felt the same way, seeing Viktoria is like Abe's adoptive daughter. Rose and Viktoria didn't understand, but I bet if Mama was in the house, they would have a better understanding.

Mama.

I have been missing her something fierce lately. It was hard the first two years in college, but I had hoped having Rose here would help with the homesickness. In all honesty, it has made it worse. I want to be back at home, in Arlington, with both our families. Watching Rose and Abe in all there little father daughter moments makes being away so much harder. Not that I would ever tell her that and it's not that I am blaming her for me missing Mama, I just wish she was here.

I called her last week, I wanted her and the family to come up for Christmas break. Karo and Sonja couldn't take the time off though, and with the kids out of school, Mama had to take care of them during the day. I thought about asking Rose if we could go home, but Abe said he had a big Christmas planned here since it was our first as a family, now that Rose and I married.

Rose and I showered in silence, both of us seemed to be having some type of inner battle, but didn't broach the subject to each other. It was one of those moments where we could just be silent with each other and it wasn't awkward or strained, just comfortable.

She finally spoke when we were drying off, "What time are you and Dad leaving tomorrow?"

"He wants to be there at around noon, the contest starts at one, so around ten thirty, it's an hour or so drive."

"What exactly are you doing?"

"Father Son shooting competition in Clarksville."

"Okay, will you be home for dinner, or not sure yet?"

"Not sure, they say the contest takes three to four hours, then the hour drive back. I would plan for around six or seven, but I am not a hundred percent sure."

She just nodded, a deep thought look on her face. I began brushing my teeth and getting ready to bed down for the night. Rose was sitting at the vanity braiding her hair.

"So, how are you feeling about baseball? Dad said practice was going well, no more mishaps."

"Yeah, I am pretty sure I was still on island time when we got back. After the first week I was back to normal. Plus, all the running we were having to do pushed us to slow down and focus more. Abe said the scouts will start coming around once the season starts, its just too early for them right now."

"The draft is in June right?"

"Yes, but they have up until August to sign new players. I talked to Joey a few weeks ago and he said that they are looking for a new catcher and first baseman, as well as some utility players. So keep your fingers crossed."

"I always do. I talked to him about a week ago, trying to get him and his girlfriend up here for new years, but he had plans to take her to Cancun."

"Must be nice." I mumbled.

"What?" she didn't hear me.

"Nothing, I was just thinking one day that could be us. Taking trips in the off season, money we wouldn't know what to do with."

"One day, it _will_ be us, Comrade. I have faith in you." she smiled up at me. "Now, let's get some sleep so you are ready for tomorrow."

Climbing into bed, I lifted the covers for her to join me. She molded to my side like always, giving me a kiss, then my chest. I returned with a kiss to her hair.

"Good night, Roza. I love you."

"Good night, Dimitri, I love you, too."

Abe always said, make sure to say I love you every night. Those were always the last words we said to each other, no matter what.

* * *

"Belikov! WAKE UP!" Abe yelled.

I rolled over in bed to look at the time, nine am, I slept in. I couldn't remember the last time I slept passed six am, not since the honeymoon, even then it was only till seven at the latest.

"Make him shut up, Comrade." Rose grumbled, still asleep.

I laughed and kissed her head before getting up. I walked toward the bedroom door, then remembered I was nude. Rose and I always slept naked together now, it was more comfortable for us. I grabbed a pair of track pants and opened the door.

"You do know the wrath of a Hathaway woman who is woken up suddenly, right?"

"Yes, I do remember, but that is your problem now." he chuckled. "Get dressed, we will be leaving in an hour and you still need to eat breakfast."

I closed the door and headed for the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth and pulling my hair back at the nape of my neck. I kissed Rose one last time and made my way downstairs.

"You can cook?" I asked Abe, I don't think I have ever seen him behind a stove.

"Yes, believe it or not, now what are you hungry for, we have bacon, eggs, mushrooms and peppers."

"All of it sounds good, thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes before Abe spoke, "So, for the next few weeks, I want you and Ivan both to let baseball go. So before that happens, how are you feeling about the upcoming season."

"Good, I guess, I am nervous about playing in front of scouts, I don't want to blow my shot...again."

"I won't tell you when they will be there, try not to look for them either. Just play the game, you will be fine."

I only nodded. He tells me the same thing every time, his faith in me is astounding. We cleaned up and headed off to Clarksville. The drive was filled with idle conversation, mainly about plans for the Christmas break. He kept insisting this was going to be the best Christmas any of us ever had, but all I could think was without my family, there is no way that would happen. I texted my mother again, just to double check there was nothing I could do to get her here. She only said she was sorry and she loves and misses me too.

My somber mood didn't help us in the competition, we placed third, and I had a little accident. I can only imagine how Rose is going to react to it. Abe and I stopped to grab dinner on the way home and I texted Rose to let her know we would be there soon.

We pulled up to the house at the same time as Ivan and Viktoria, parking our vehicles in the garage, we made our way in the house. The smell hit me first, I looked at Viktoria, she smelt it too. Home. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe Rose was trying to help with our homesickness by cooking, I was surprised the house was still standing.

"Roza, We're home." I yelled out. No one answered.

We had to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen, when it came into view I had to stop.

"Mama!" Vika yelled and rushed toward our mother.

Two thoughts crossed my mind. Thank god Rose wasn't cooking, I love her, but she can't boil water, let alone make Russian Cuisine. Second, my mother was here, those little sneaks.

I followed after Viktoria, wrapping our mother between us. Rose stood off to the side, a beautiful smile donned her face. Then I noticed Karo, Sonja, the kids and Babushka in the dining room.

"I thought you guys weren't able to come? How long have you had this planned?" I asked the whole group.

"You don't need to worry about that, Dimka. We are here now, that's all that matters."

"Yes, thank you for that, it was getting tiring keeping this from you two." Rose said.

"I told you we were having a huge family Christmas this year, Dimitri, you should have listened." Abe joined in.

I hugged my wife, "I love you, Roza. Thank you."

"You're more than welcome, Comrade." she said as she ran her hands down my arm, "What happened here?", she felt the gauze, lifting my sleeve she could see the little line of blood, "YOU SHOT HIM?" anger radiated through her body at her father. Abe and I laughed.

"This isn't funny, how could you do that?"

Everyone was now looking between Abe and I, it took us a minute to stop laughing.

"He didn't shoot me, love. We had a little accident with one of the guns."

"You could have died!"

"Eh, doubtful." Abe said, "He didn't get that from a bullet, he wasn't expecting the recoil on the shotgun to be that bad, he got knocked back and he caught the edge of the divider on his way down."

We laughed again. I was strong, but having never fired a shotgun before, I didn't know it would have that much kick.

"You should have said that first!" she was breathing heavy now.

"Sorry, we figured you would think that at first, honestly, I would have rather he shot me. Everyone around saw me hit my ass, it was embarrassing."

Everyone laughed and Rose settled down. We gathered around the dining table and chatted for a while before bed. I was in heaven, I had my whole family around me, this day couldn't get any better at this point.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

Christmas break had been amazing, Olena and I spent a few hours a day walking around in the park with the kids. Dimitri and Viktoria took their sisters sightseeing and Dad stayed with Yeva, those two were best friends, though they wouldn't admit it. We had a huge feast on Christmas day, I tried to help, but wound up getting kicked out of the kitchen. Dimitri and Mama prepared all the food, while Vika and I decorated the house.

I was so happy to have them here, but knew time was coming for them to have to head home. We would see them again for spring break, but that was three months away. I missed Olena almost as much as Dimitri did, it just wasn't the same without her nearby.

Ivan proposed to Viktoria on New Years night, it was very romantic, but Dimitri's was better of course. She asked Dad to walk her down the aisle and he agreed without pause, he has seen her as his daughter since we were little. Now we had another wedding to plan, on top of school and their final season, things would be hectic for a while.

"All ready to go?" I asked Olena. Dimitri and Viktoria would be driving them to the airport.

"Yes." she let out a soft sigh, "We will see eachother soon, take care, Roza."

"I will, Mama, I love you." I gave her a bone crushing hug.

The rest of the family made their way downstairs, everyone giving hugs and saying goodbye. Paul was the hardest to let go of, he missed us the most I think.

"Auntie Roza, can I please stay with you?" his little voice was so sad.

"I would love that, Pauly, but you have to go back to school, so do I. We will be home in a few months to visit." I wrapped my arms around him, he was getting so big. I think he grew a foot since the wedding. "I tell you what, if you are good for your Mama and Babushka for the next few months, I will take you to the race car track when we come down. Sound good?"

He nodded furiously, "I will be, but I will still miss you."

"I know, I will miss you too." I kissed his head and let him go say bye to Ivan and Dad.

As I watched them as the Suburban pulled away, lone tear falling from my eye.

"Come on, Rosie. We will see them soon, let's clean up before they get back." Ivan said.

I nodded and walked back inside.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

So, where did he learn the new tricks? I'll only say it wasn't google. Our dear Dimitri has some secrets.

I know this one jumped through a bit of time, but like I have said before, during "off season" time, there really isn't much to fill the space. Next chapter will be going forward another month. We are nearing the end and it is bittersweet to me.

As always, thank you to all the reviewers and follows/favorites that have added on in the last few chapters. You guys are amazing.


	34. Part 3: Chapter 6: Wild West

**_Disclaimer: I do not own VA, only the few OC_**

 ** _Part 3: Chapter 6: Wild West_**

 ** _DPOV_**

The next few weeks few by, before I knew it, my last season in college was starting. It was a surreal feeling, in three short months, I would graduate, in four, I will possibly play my last game. I haven't had any contact from scouts yet, they have shown up to a few scrimmages, but no one had spoken to me, not even Tampa Bay. I was starting to get discouraged, especially considering Ivan has been approached by a few teams.

After talking to Abe, I decided to give it my all no matter what. He promised that I would go pro, even if he had to buy a team and put me on it. I wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but I told him I would either make it on my own or not at all. I didn't want a hand out, I wanted to prove that I was capable. Nothing in life comes easy, right?

Today was our last practice before the first game of the season. Running basic drills and then a short scrimmage. I had just got to the field when I noticed two unfamiliar people standing with Abe in the dugout, well one was unfamiliar, the other was Gallo.

"Joey? What are you doing here?"

"Is that anyway to welcome your future teammate, D." he laughed and gave me a firm "bro" hug.

"I just wasn't expecting to see you any time soon, shouldn't you be getting ready for spring training?"

"We have another week, I wanted you to meet Mike. He is one of our first baseman and has played catcher, too. He may have some pointers for you and Ivan."

I reached out to shake Mike's hand. I knew who he was, hell I knew of everyone on the team, but it was amazing to meet him in person. He wasn't a great player, but he was good.

"It's good to meet you, Dimitri. JoJo has told us all a lot about you and Ivan. I have to say, I am impressed with his words, but I wanted to see it in action. Think you and Ivan can handle some drills with him and myself today?"

I looked over to Abe and he nodded, "We will be on the game field, you all can have the practice field for the evening."

"Thanks, Abe." I texted Ivan and told him to hurry up, he was always late to before game practice.

"Congratulations by the way, Abe said you finally married Rose. Why didn't you guys tell me, I would have sent a gift." Joey said as we walked.

"That I did, thank you." I held up my left hand to show the band. "It was a hectic year, her mom got sick and passed, she started college, there was just a lot going on."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear." I just nodded, I didn't like to think about everything that happened last year.

"Wait, does she know you are here?"

"She will tonight. Abe invited us to dinner."

"Great." I loaded with sarcasm.

"What, you don't want us to come over?"

"No, it's not that, she just has a tendency to forget I exist when you're around. You know she loves you more than she loves me and I'm her husband." I laughed.

"Then remind her of that when we leave." he said with a wink.

"Unless you plan on taking Abe out of the house with you, that won't be happening."

Joey and Mike laughed at my expense, but I didn't care. It was nice to hang out with him again, he was a cool guy. Something dawned on me as we continued to walk.

"You said future teammate earlier, do you know something I don't?", I asked them.

"Well, I talked to our scouts the other day, they told me about the last time they came and saw you. Why didn't you ever tell me?" Joey asked.

"I was embarrassed. We had just come back from the honeymoon and I wasn't quite back in the game yet. I was screwing up plays all day, they were not impressed, Abe was furious."

"Yeah, he told me after I had heard from our scouts. I talked with them for a good while the other day and promised you had it in you. So, they will be dropping in on some of your games this year. Before you ask, no I don't know which ones."

I didn't know if I should be jumping up and down like Lissa does when she hears the word "shopping" or crawl in a hole and hide.

"Don't worry," Mike said taking in my current look, "If you don't know they are there, you won't focus on trying to impress them. Just play the game like you always have, from what Jojo has said, you're really good. If you can prove that to them, they will draft you without question, we can use all the help we can get."

That wasn't a lie, last year was really rough for the Rangers. This season is supposed to be a rebuilding year, mainly in the bullpen, but I can double as pitcher and infield. Ivan finally showed up and I made the introductions. Then began one of the hardest practices we have ever done.

Mike and Joey surely didn't go easy on Ivan and I. After several rounds of short hop plays, bunt drills and several different double play options, we were finally done. So much for a easy practice before game day. We parted ways, them to the hotel to get ready for dinner, Ivan and I to the locker room to shower.

"Damn, I don't remember the last time my legs hurt this bad." Ivan said.

"Well you did like four hundred squats in three hours, plus the running. I would be surprised if you weren't in pain right now."

"I will be taking a long hot soak tonight, maybe I can get Vika to join me and rub out my sore muscles." he said with a grin.

"I will never be able to unhear that, you know." I was used to the fact that Ivan was with my sister, it's been like seven years, but I still didn't want to hear about it.

We arrived to the house just as Joey and Mike pulled up, "Are you ready?" I asked Joey.

He laughed, "Of course, want to bet on how quickly she jumps me this time?"

"As soon as she sees you come in the door." I said.

"I give her two minutes, she will be distracted by Mike." Ivan joined in.

"I just want to see this." Mike laughed.

"Here we go." I opened the door.

 ** _RPOV_**

I heard the front door open, "Dimitri Alexander Belikov, is that you?" I yelled from the kitchen.

"Someone's in trouble." I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

I walked out into the hall way to see Dimitri and Ivan walking in with two other people.

"Ahhh.. Joey!" I yelled as I launched myself at him. I haven't seen him since he came to dinner almost two years ago, granted we still talked, but I missed him.

"I win." Dimitri says and everyone laughed. Then I was reminded that I was mad at him, but I didn't want talk about it infront of Joey and the other person I didn't recognize. I glared at him, still attached to Joey's chest, I kissed his cheek and got down.

"How have you been?"

"Great, thank you, this is Mike Napoli, our first baseman. Mike, Rose Belikov."

"Belikova, actually, we kept to the Russian tradition on that. It's nice to meet you. Mike."

"You too, Rose."

"Well come on, dinner is just about ready, Dad just got home so he should be down soon. Pavel won't be joining us tonight, he is out with Melissa."

We made our way back toward the dining room, when Ivan piped up.

"So, what did Dimitri do this time?", he asked, Dimitri shot him a death glare. He was hoping I would forget whatever it was with Joey here.

"Nothing, we can discuss it later, we have guest." I said, giving Ivan my own look of disapproval.

"I am actually intrigued as to what he did to make you yell at him. I didn't think you two ever yelled at each other." Joey said.

"Oh we do, but mainly when other people aren't around. It's nothing really, would you guys like a soda or beer?"

I got the guys drinks, just as Dad walked down the stairs, not realizing that our guest had already arrived.

"Which one of you two decided to order adult pay-per-view on my TV?" he yelled.

My head snapped to Dimitri, I guess he was going to be called out on it anyways. When I went to pay the bill this afternoon, I was not happy to find that. I asked Dad if he had ordered anything and he said no, I knew Ivan or Vika wouldn't do it, so that only left one person.

Ivan laughed, "Really, D?"

This is why I didn't want to bring it up with guest here, Dimitri was mortified. The look on his face, I wanted to cry just seeing him so ashamed. Dad made his entrance just then, seeing our guest, then looked at Dimitri. I could tell he felt bad calling him out, he would never intentionally do that in front of others.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you guys were here already. How was your practice?" he quickly changed the subject.

"It went well, I think you're boys will be dead to the world tonight, we ran them pretty hard." Mike said.

"Good. They need that every once in a while. I don't feel I go hard enough on them most days. They surpassed their teammates long ago, so they need a more rigorous training."

Dad kept the conversation going, trying to keep topics away from the TV purchase. I continued to look to Dimitri through dinner, he kept his head down the whole time, not speaking more than a word to answer a question, and that was only if it was directly to him. Vika got home about halfway through dinner, she had a late class and study session tonight. Dimitri excused himself when I started clearing the table. Ivan, Vika, Joey and Mike were all chatting at the table, Dad came into the kitchen to help me.

"I am sorry, I didn't realize they were here already, I wasn't trying to embarrass him. I thought it was funny." he said.

"Of course you would, I have to go make sure my husband is okay, can you handle this?"

"Yes, tell him I am sorry."

I walked away with a nod. Granted, I was pissed when I saw it, but I would never have brought it up in front of anyone. Not even Dad or Ivan, they would give him shit for life.

"Comrade?" I called out as I walked in the bedroom. He was sitting on his side of the bed, with his head in his hands.

"Comrade? Are you okay?" I asked again, stepping in front of him. I kept my voice low and full of love, I wanted him to know I was not mad right now.

"No I am not, I want to be alone." He snapped.

I took a step back, he has never snapped at me like that. I know he is embarrassed, but really, he shouldn't be, he didn't do anything wrong, I mean, not really. There could be many reason he was looking at it, I wanted to talk to him about it. I felt that he wasn't being satisfied by me and needed another outlet. That's what hurt the most, thinking I wasn't doing it for him.

"I get that you are embarrassed, but you do not need to snap at me. I am only trying to talk to you!", I was getting angry again.

"I don't want to talk, I want to be alone." his tone was softer, but still held a tone of anger mixed with sadness.

"Whatever, when you're done with this pity party, come find me. Good night." I left.

I headed downstairs and grabbed my car keys. Saying good night to the guys, I left in search of solitude. It was Thursday night and there were several open mic nights going on, I would find one and let myself be free for a little while.

I walked into my favorite cafe, it was about three minutes from campus, so I visited frequently in between classes. They had karaoke nights on Thursdays, so I put in my request, found a table in the back and relaxed into the sound of music and the smell of coffee beans.

Thoughts of Dimitri constantly ran through my head, I understand the humiliation he must feel, but why wouldn't he talk to me about it. Why close himself off? It's natural to be curious or experiment with things like that, now I haven't done it, I didn't plan too, but I could understand if he did. Even if, I never expected it. He has always been shy about his personal and physical relationship with me, he didn't like to talk about it with anyone.

I shouldn't have walked out on him, I should have stayed at the house, let him come around and talk to him. Just then, I was called up to the stage. I handed the DJ my CD and took the mic.

"Hello Everyone, My name is Rose Belikova and I will be singing an original song for y'all tonight. I wrote this about two years ago, when my now husband, left for college and I was going through some rough times. I hope you enjoy it."

 ** _Baby you could steal my heart like Jesse James_**

 ** _Or come in guns blazing just like ole' John Wayne_**

 ** _Well, now's your chance to save the girl_**

 ** _Better take it 'fore it's gone_**

 ** _Yeah, you better get your boots on_**

 ** _And love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Ride me off in the sunset_**

 ** _Outlaws makin' a run for it_**

 ** _Well come on, boy, be my cowboy_**

 ** _Keep me by your side all night_**

 ** _Hold me tight like a pearl-handled .45_**

 ** _And just let me be the whiskey on your breath_**

 ** _Love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _I wanna feel like we jumped a train to Santa Fe (desperadoes makin' our getaway)_**

 ** _Like we're desperadoes makin' our getaway (like we jumped a train to Santa Fe)_**

 ** _I wanna hide away on some prairie_**

 ** _Underneath a blanket of stars and just get lost in you arms_**

 ** _And love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Ride me off in the sunset_**

 ** _Outlaws makin' a run for it_**

 ** _Well come on, boy, be my cowboy_**

 ** _Keep me by your side all night_**

 ** _And hold me tight like a pearl-handled .45_**

 ** _And just let me be the whiskey on your breath_**

 ** _And love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Ride me off in the sunset_**

 ** _Outlaws makin' a run for it_**

 ** _Well come on, boy, be my cowboy_**

 ** _Keep me by your side all night_**

 ** _And hold me tight like a pearl-handled .45_**

 ** _And just let me be the whiskey on your breath_**

 ** _And love me like the wild, wild, wild, west_**

 ** _Love me like the wild west_**

 ** _Baby you could steal my heart like Jesse James_**

 ** _Or go out guns blazing just like ole' John Wayne_**

I never sang this one before, I took Dimitri's love for westerns and our love for each other and ran with it. I wanted him to be the first to hear it, but tonight, I needed to. I get that we will fight and we will have our ups and downs, but when it's over stupid shit, I hate it. We are adults, we should be able to talk about these types of things. If he was just trying to "research" new things or if he feels the need to find release some other way, he should be able to talk to me.

Then again, I should be able to talk to him about my insecurities of not being enough for him. In my head, I had a whole speech, but could I say any of it when it came time to actually talk. We were still finding out what the other likes and doesn't like. Granted, we only get two maybe three nights a month that we can even be intimate because of Dad. I didn't think we were doing too bad, but I guess he did. Or maybe it's something else entirely and I am reading into it the wrong way.

I took out my phone and texted Dimitri. I wanted him to know I was sorry and that I love him. Also that I would be home soon, in hopes he was ready to talk. I paid for my drink and walked out the door. I heard footsteps behind me, but paid no mind, there were a lot of people around.

Until I heard his voice, I spun around and I felt a pinch in my arm, the world went black.

 ** _DPOV_**

I was absolutely and utterly humiliated. Not only was my dark secret brought to light to Rose, but in front of Joey and Mike. I didn't want anyone to know about it, I was going to eventually tell Rose, but I needed to figure out how. If I would have known they could find out I used the TV I never would have done that.

I wasn't ready to talk to her just yet, hence why I excused myself to the room. I just needed to think of how to talk to her. I didn't want her to think it was anything wrong with her, or I wasn't into it, but how exactly do you tell your Wife you resulted to watching adult movies to learn how to pleasure her? Since Google didn't really help and I swear Siri laughed at me when I asked her, I was out of ideas. I never wanted to do it, I always thought it was disrespectful, granted, I wasn't watching sex scenes exactly, it was a just demonstrative special, "expanding your sex life", sure there were people showing you how to do certain things, but they weren't actually engaging in the act.

I felt like I was failing her, physically. She said she enjoyed it, sounded like she was, but I don't know, it felt like I wasn't doing enough. I felt boring. Everytime we had been together, was exactly like the first night. Maybe a few differences in order, but all the same. I just wanted some inspiration, ideas of new things to try. I was not asking Ivan or anyone for help, that is more embarrassing than this. After I tried a few new things, I felt better about our sex life. She seemed to enjoy the new positions and little extras, so I haven't looked up anything since before Christmas.

A half hour after Rose left, I walked down stairs in search for her. The faster we got this over with, the better off we would be. However, I didn't find Rose, only Abe.

"Do you know where she is?"

"She took off, probably to one of the cafe's in town. It's Thursday." he said, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Right." I wanted to apologize to him, after all it is his account it was charged to, but I didn't know what to say.

My phone pinged just then, Rose texted saying she was sorry and she would be home soon. What does she have to be sorry about? I was the one who pushed her away when she wanted to talk. I texted her back, letting her know I love her and she didn't need to be sorry, I was the one in the wrong.

Ten minutes went by, she still hadn't shown up. Maybe she went to one of the further away cafe's? Another ten minutes. Okay, it shouldn't take her twenty minutes to get home from anywhere she would have gone. I checked her phones gps, Abe insisted we have the family tracker after that creeper Ben showed up last year.

Her phone was moving north, away from the house. Where was she going? I tried to call, it rang through to voicemail. The phone is connected to her car, she would answer even if she was driving, I tried again, voicemail.

Abe was watching me with a worried look, "What's going on? Where is she?"

"I don't know, she won't answer, but her phone is showing she is headed north."

Abe and I watched the little picture of Rose move further and further away from home, looking at each other, we headed for the door, grabbing my truck keys and took off after her. We came up to her favorite cafe, her car was still parked outside. What the hell? Maybe her phone was stolen, but she had just told me she was coming home. She had her phone on her and then what?

I walked inside, while Abe went to look at her car. I talked to the cashier at the drink counter and the DJ. They said she was definitely there, but left right after she sang half an hour ago.

"Did you see anyone with her?"

The cashier looked like she was thinking way to hard, "There was a guy, about six foot, brown hair and really nice blue eyes. He came in ordered a drink, watched her sing, then left right after she did."

The description ran through my head, I knew who he was. I was sure he wouldn't show his face around here again after Ivan and I beat the shit out of him for following her. I ran back outside to where Abe was at, still by her car. He showed me a bag, Rose's purse, a grimm look shown on his face.

"She's gone." he said.

"Yeah, I know who has her."

Authors Note:

Was anyone close to guessing Dimitri's secret? I actually had my ex do that, I laughed about it when I found out. I felt bad for him, anyways, now you knew that a certain someone had to serve a purpose in being introduced into this story, right? Well you will see his true colors next chapter. As always, thank you for reading, leave a review on your way out!

Song used: Wild West by Runaway June, I don't own that either.


	35. Part 3: Chapter 7: Wild West 20

_**Trigger Warning: This chapter does contain mention of assaulting activity, no details or graphic content will be made.**_

 _ **As always, R &R and follow me on facebook for updates and photos. **_

_**www dot facebook dot com/dreamwalkersobsession**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I only own the OC, nothing from VA**_

* * *

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 7: Wild West 2.0**_

 _ **RPOV**_

"Fuck!", I woke with a jolt as my head connected with something.

Rubbing the sore spot I took in my surrounding, I was crammed inside of a car trunk. Seriously, this mother fucker put me in a trunk! Oh I am going to kill him, if Dimitri doesn't find us first, or better yet, my father.

Dimitri.

I had texted him telling him I was coming home, he would have expected me and would be looking for me. I felt around my body and located my phone, I had it stuffed in my boot. Idiot, I thought, he didn't even take my phone away. The battery was low, about ten percent, but I could text for a little bit before it died, calling would drain the battery faster. I had to let him know who had taken me, I had to let him know that I love him. The phone would die no matter what, I had to tell him one last time.

"Ben has me, please help! I don't know where we are, I'm in the trunk of his car!"

A reply came almost instantly, _"Are you safe to call me? We are tracking your phone."_

"No, the battery is low. It's going to die, you won't be able to track it."

" _Hang on, Roza. I am coming for you. Do you know what kind of car?"_

"No, He injected me with something and I passed out."

" _Is there an inside trunk release?"_

I looked around for the glowing lever, "Yes."

" _If you feel the car slow down, like its about to stop, pull that release and run, run like you have never ran before."_

"I don't know if I can, I feel like I am being weighed down." Whatever he used hadn't fully wore off.

" _You have to baby, you have to fight and you have to run. We are an hour behind you, hold on for me, I love you, Roza, I am so sorry!_ "

I was just about to text him back when I slid backwards, or forwards, depending on which way you looked at it. My back hit the backseat roughly, the car was slamming to a stop. Now was my chance. Just as I was about to pull the lever I heard him yell and the car lurched forward again. Damn it.

I looked at my phone again, five percent left. Please, they have to find me, I can't be stuck with him.

" _Roza, are you still there?"_

"Yeah, but I only have five percent battery left. I love you, Dimitri! Never forget that, okay, no matter what I love you! Forever and Always, Comrade."

" _Don't act like I will never see you again, I told you, I am coming, just hold on, okay. I love you, Roza."_

The phone died.

I couldn't stop myself from crying, my body was wracking and I was coughing due to the lack of air. I tried to pull myself together, I needed to be able to run when the time came. I needed to stop crying and be ready. Finally, I cried my last tears, I held no more in my body and the car was still moving at a steady pace.

I began to doze off, just as I felt the road beneath us shift. It was no longer smooth, but bumpy, like a back country road. Oh god, where is he taking me? How far away from civilization are we? The car began to slow, almost to a complete stop. If I pulled the lever now and jumped while he was slowly rolling, it would give me a few seconds of a head start.

 _On three Rose, just pull and jump. You can do this! You have to do this!_

I felt the brakes compress, bring the car almost to a full stop, I pulled the truck release, I was ready, only nothing happened. It wouldn't open. I felt the world close in on me, I couldn't get out, I couldn't run.

The car stopped completely and the engine shut off, a door opened and closed, then he opened the trunk lid. A gun in his hand, pointed directly at my head. I didn't move, hell, I wouldn't be able to even if I wanted to, I was frozen beneath the barrel.

"As long as you listen, you will be safe, understood?" his tone was menacing, nothing like the soft, sweet Ben that I once knew.

I only nodded, not trusting my voice at this point. He gripped my arm tightly and led me into a little cabin. I looked around, trying to find something to tell me where we were, but there was nothing but trees and vast land. I could hear water off in the distance, but had no idea how far away it was.

As we walked in the door, I took a good look around. There was a worn down couch to the right, a small coffee table and a standing lamp next to it, a kitchenette to the left. A table with two chairs sat in the far corner next to the "kitchen", then a small hallway straight ahead. He led me down that hall, a door on either side and one at the end.

Walking in the far door, it opened to a tiny bedroom, there was a queen mattress on the floor, a pale blue comforter sat on top. A dresser on the right side and a study table on the left. It felt so crammed, the room was extremely small and with big clunky furniture, it made it seem even smaller.

"Rose, I am sorry for what I had to do, but you have to understand, I love you, we could be happy out here. I have been working on the house for almost a year to get it ready for us."

"What do you want from me?" I tried to sound brave, but failed miserably, I am terrified and there was no way to hide it.

"I want to be happy, Rose, that's all I have ever wanted. You understand me, you get me, I never want to lose that again." I could tell he was being sincere, but he was going about this completely wrong.

I couldn't reply, I didn't know what to say, I didn't want to fight him, he was still holding the gun after all.

"Come on, you have no idea how perfect it could be out here! I would never leave you like he wants to, I would make you happy!"

"He doesn't want to leave me." my voice was small, he didn't right. I thought again about whether or not I was enough for him. Has he grown tired of me? Sure we had only been married for a few months, but we've been together for seven years. Did he want a change of pace?

 _Stop it, Rose._ I yelled to myself, _don't let your insecurities get the better of you. Remember what happened last time!_ Yeah, that was when I first met Ben. He was so nice, what the hell happened to him.

"Ben, What happened to you? Who broke your heart?"

"Well, Sarah was first, but that bitch got what she deserved." a wicked grin spread across his face, I shivered at the sight. "Then there was Amanda, the one with the kid. Well she said I was "unstable" and she couldn't have that around her little boy. Then there was Courtney, she told me she loved me, took every last dime I had and ran. They didn't understand me, not like you do. Can't you see, we are meant for each other, Rose."

I felt bad for him, he seemed to have the worst taste in women, but maybe it is because he really is unstable. I know his time and trials in the service had haunted and changed him. From what he had told me of his life before, he was a completely different person now.

"I am sorry that happened to you, but we can't do this. I am married now, Ben. I love him and he loves me. You will find that someday, but this isn't the way to do it."

"He doesn't love you the way I can, he will never understand you the way I do." his voice was sinister again.

Okay, this wasn't working, how the hell am I going to get out of here, wherever here is.

"Now, I am going to cook us some dinner. You _will_ stay here and you _will_ be quite, understood."

I nodded. He grabbed a pair of handcuffs from the dresser and cuffed me to a post by the bed.

"I love you, Rose, you will see, everything will be perfect now." he walked away.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Ten hours. It has been Ten hours since Rose was taken. Ten hours of not knowing if she is okay. Ten hours of thinking the worst. Ten hours.

"Son, go try to rest." I gave him a look, but before I could speak he held his hand up, "I know, but without her phone and no vehicle description or any idea of where he is going, we are at a standstill."

"There is no way I can sleep, Dad, my Wife has been taken by a freaking lunatic!" I always tended to fall into calling him Dad when I was overly emotional. He knew I was beyond serious in moments like that.

"I know, but at least sit down."

I had worn a path on the floor over the last three hours. We drove for another two before turning around and coming home when her phone died. We had no leads, no direction, nothing. When we talked to the local police, they put out an Amber Alert and told us to go home and wait. There was no point in us chasing a ghost, they said.

"I keep failing her." I put my head in my hands, taking a seat in the reading chair across from him.

"You couldn't have predicted this, Dimitri. You're not a psychic, we will find her and bring her home."

"I could have prevented it, If I would have just talked to her, she wouldn't have left the house." I was on the verge of a complete break down.

"Could have, would have and should have, will not help right now."

I knew he was right, but how could I not think of what I could have done to prevent this. Why does something have to always happen? Life has been going so good.

"Why her? Why do bad things keep happening to her?" I wasn't asking anyone in particular, but Abe answered anyways.

"Bad things happen to everyone, it just seems like they always happen to people close to us, because that's what we focus on."

"Not helping." I said, resting my head on the back of the chair.

Ivan and Vika had gone to bed a few hours ago, Pavel was calling some friends he had made at the police department. Abe had exhausted his list of contacts in the area. I was simply at a loss. I didn't know what to do. There was nothing I could do.

I kept looking at the clock and the door, hoping she would walk through it any minute. It was now almost 6 am, the sun would be rising soon. We had our first game at home in eight hours. I couldn't even think about playing right now. Not without her here.

Abe and I sat in silence, still checking the clock and door constantly.

I must have dozed off at some point, when I opened my eyes there was light streaming in through the windows lining the living room.

Pavel was in the kitchen whispering with Abe, Vika and Ivan sat at the dining table and Suzanne ran around cooking for everyone. I checked my phone just to make sure Rose hadn't called. Even though I knew her phone was dead, I still prayed it would ring and her picture would show up. I got up off the couch and made my way into the kitchen with everyone.

"Anything?" I asked Abe.

"No, I spoke with a detective on the phone about an hour ago. They have all her information and his, plus pictures from her album of them both, now we just have to wait."

"What are the chances of finding her?"

"We will find her, one way or another." Pavel said. "She is a fighter, she won't go down easy."

"That's what worries me most, if she fights him, he may hurt her. I can't lose her!" I was trying so hard not to let the tears that were welling up rapidly fall.

"We will get her back, Dimka. You have to stay strong though, she will need you." my baby sister to the rescue. She wiped the fallen tears and wrapped her arms around my waist.

Suzanne placed breakfast at the table and we all sat down, I couldn't touch it. My stomach was churning and smell was actually making me nauseous. I pushed my plate away and sat back in the chair, staring into nothing.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to get ready for the game." Abe broke the silence.

"How can you even think about that right now?"

"Because, you know she would kick your ass if you missed the game. There is nothing we can do, Dimitri! Believe me, if I could drive and find her I would have left already, but I can't. So like it or not, you will go and get dressed and play the stupid game!"

I grabbed my plate off the table and threw it into the wall, letting out a loud roar of anger as it shattered onto the ground.

"Do you not even care that he has her? He could be doing god knows what to her right now and you want me to just forget about it and play a fucking game?"

"Now, listen here, she may be your Wife, but she is _my daughter_ first. I don't even want to imagine what could be happening to her right now, but there is nothing we can do! I have exhausted every contact I fucking have! How can you even think I don't care!"

"You want to just go on like this isn't happening!"

"No I don't, but I have a entire team of players that are due to play a game today. I can't just leave them, to just sit here and wait! That's not what Rose would want us to do."

"Don't talk like she's dead!"

"I'm not, I am just telling you the truth. We can't abandon the team. Son, there is nothing we can do, get that, I wish there was, but there isn't." he lowered his voice, trying to calm the raging argument, "Now, please, go and get ready. Once we make it through this, we can try and find another lead or something to help the police find her. We have to trust them in the mean time to do their jobs."

"Fine."

We lost the game, no surprise there. I couldn't focus on anything but My Roza, My love, My whole world. How could I do anything when she wasn't here? She is probably scared and hurt, she needs me, and I can do nothing.

* * *

I sat in our room, the photo book she made me in my lap. Everyday since she was taken, I looked through our lives. The book had gotten longer, we added pictures from her graduation, our trip to Destin, the Series and finally our wedding. I smiled at all the memories we had made over the last fifteen years. What if this is all we get? What if all I will ever have of her again is in this book?

I cried the night she was taken, but since then I haven't been able to feel anything but anger. Right now, I felt like my entire world had been stripped away. Looking into my sweet Roza's face, smiling, missing her front teeth. I completely shattered. I could no longer contain the fear and sorrow my heart held. I clutched the book to my chest and laid on her side of the bed, inhaling her scent that lingered on the pillow, letting the tears fall.

Time meant nothing to me anymore, minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days. I wasn't going to classes, I didn't even bother to go to the games, I just sat in the house. We still hadn't heard anything from the police, no signs of getting closer to finding Rose. We all knew the longer she was gone, the less likely it was we would find alive, if at all.

"So you're telling me that after two weeks, you still have no lead on where they could be?" I yelled at the Detective.

Two weeks Roza has been gone, I was growing very impatient with these cops, and scared, very scared. Where is she? What is he doing to her? Is she hurt?

"Mr. Belikov, I assure you we are doing everything we can. We have contacted his family and friends, no one knows where he could be."

"Did you try tracing his phone?"

"He left it, they found it in his room at home. We don't know what kind of vehicle he is in, his car was still at his house, so we assume he is in a rental vehicle, but we are having a hard time trying to trace that. The companies won't release the information without a warrant."

"So get a warrant, how hard can that be?"

"A lot harder than you think. We have to get one for each rental company. Your talking hundreds of locations between Montana and here."

"Someone has to know something! He couldn't have just fallen off the face of the earth with my Wife!"

"We will find her, Mr. Belikov. Just keep your faith up."

"What faith?" I muttered, I have never been a religious person like Mama and Abe. Sure, I believed there was something else out there, there was a life after this one. I could only hope that if something happened to Rose, she would be in a better place, able to watch over me and know that she will always be my one and only.

"Sooner or later we will catch a break, someone somewhere will see one of them, or he will make a mistake. I know this can't be easy, I can imagine how you are feeling, but trust me, I am doing everything I can."

"It's not good enough." I was on the verge of tears again, I don't believe I have ever cried so much in my entire life.

I walked back into the house, Abe was in the kitchen working on something.

"Dad, I'm gonna go for a drive. I'll be back in a few hours." I grabbed my duster and headed out into the frigid air.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

 _ **(Trigger Warning)**_

Two freaking weeks! I have been held in this shit hole for two weeks. I have looked around this tiny room a million times, trying to find something to get me out of the cuffs. He never took them off, even when I had to go to the bathroom. He would walk with me and stay until I was finished. I have never been so embarrassed about something in my entire life as I was about that.

The first few days, he wouldn't leave my side, constantly telling me how wonderful everything would be now. I couldn't eat or sleep, I was throwing up constantly. Something here was making me sick, that or I was so repulsed by him, I was actually vomiting at the thoughts of what was going to happen. I needed to find some way, some how, to escape. I scanned the little room again and again, nothing. Nothing in here would get me out.

Nighttime was the worst part of it all. Each night he would come to the room, he wouldn't sleep in here with me, he had another room for just him, but he would come in and do things to me. He hasn't forced intercourse yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time. He seemed to like making me do things to him, more than doing them to me. I was actually thankful for that in a way, but I couldn't help but think, Dimitri won't want me after he finds out what happened here.

The nights that I managed to get a few hours, I dreamt of Dimitri, our future, well what should have been our future, our past and our love in general. Every day, I hoped he wasn't missing school or his games, he needed to be at his best this year. I prayed that if I never saw him again, he would drive himself harder, achieve everything he wanted. Find someone new to love, have everything we ever wanted in life, even if I wasn't here to see it. I knew he would do everything he can to find me, though there isn't much he can do. With no way to contact him, no information about where I was and no car to track, there was nothing anyone could do. The thought was crushing, but I had to keep looking and playing his game. At some point, he will let his guard down.

Lucky for me, that time was coming soon.

"Rose, I got your favorite! Sesame Chicken and Fried Rice." he hollered coming back inside. He had left about an hour ago to get dinner. I spent that time trying to break the post that the handcuff was attached to, mind you I have tried it every time he leaves, with no progress. My wrist were bruised and bleeding from my constant struggles.

My mouth watered at the thought of Chinese food. I could only hope I could actually eat it, I haven't eaten much anything he has put in front of me yet. I was starving and just the smell alone was making my stomach growl in anticipation. I needed strength, I needed to eat.

He came and unlocked the handcuff, noticing the raw red skin that donned my wrist.

"Love, you really have to stop doing that, look at what you are doing to your beautiful hands."

"There just so uncomfortable. You don't have to keep me locked up anymore, I'm not going anywhere."

"I can almost believe you, Rose.", he said as we reached the kitchen.

The gun was sitting on the counter, car keys right next to it, if he was distracted for a split second, I could get to them. Time to put a little more power behind my words, I need him to trust me.

"This smells amazing, thank you so much, Ben." I kissed his cheek, he smiled back at me.

I had to try and hold my disgust in, I have to play the part. We sat down to eat, I tried to keep an idle conversation going. Asking about his day and about how we could update the cabin, anything to keep his attention off of my anxiety of what I was about to do. When half my plate was gone, I asked if he wanted a drink.

"I can get it." he said.

"No, its okay, you've done so much, let me get it." I said with my man eater smile, as sweet as cake.

He watched me closely as I walked to the cupboard and pulled out two glasses. Turning the sink on I filled the first glass and walked it over to him. He began to drink it greedily and I turned to get my glass. I left the water running to make a little bit of noise so hopefully he wouldn't hear me move the gun.

Dad had made sure I knew how to shoot, load, reload and disassemble a pistol after the whole Jesse incident. I could not be more grateful to my overprotective father, right now. I picked up the gun and held it in front of me still walking to the sink. I pulled the slide back, there was a round already loaded into the chamber. I clicked the safety off and took a deep breath.

"Rose?" he said.

I spun around and met his gaze, pointing the gun straight at him. Doesn't feel too good does it, fucker.

"Rose, let's not do anything rash, love. How about you put that back down and I won't put the cuffs back on, sound like a deal?"

I laughed, out right laughed. "You really think I would put it down, now that I have the upper hand here."

"Rose, please, I just want us to be together and have a great life, can't you see that?"

He honestly looked broken, again, I felt bad for him, but right now, it was him or me. I was ready to go home.

"What I can see is you need help. This isn't right, Ben, and you know it. Now, I am going to get in the car and I am going to go home, understood?" I used the same tone he gave me when we first got here.

"Okay." he held up his hands in surrender.

I didn't take a moment to think why he would give up so easily, I kept my eyes locked on his and felt the counter for the keys. I couldn't feel them, I looked away from him for a split second. I saw them and grabbed them quickly, turning back to him, he was now directly in front of me. I hadn't even heard him move.

He reached out to grab the gun, I tried to move but he was to fast. Grabbing the barrel he twisted it, in turn making my wrist move to an unnatural angle and I screamed out in pain, he would pay for that. I drew my leg back and landed a solid kick right into his jewels. As he dropped like a ton of bricks, I tried to run for the door, but he grabbed my leg, pulling me down with him. My head bounced off the hard floor, stars danced through my vision. I shook my head and struck out, landing a kick to his face.

I attempted to crawl to where the gun now sat on the other side of the room. My hand wrapped around the grip, time moved in slow motion. I rolled over to aim toward him, but he was jumping on top of me, the gun now pinned between us. We wrestled on the wooden floor, I fighting for my life, him fighting to keep me. One of us would lose, I'll be damned if it was going to be me. I pulled every ounce of strength I had left and pushed against his chest, barley freeing the hand that held tightly to the iron grip.

I pulled the trigger, a moment later the door to the cabin flew open. My Comrade stood there, looking straight like John Wayne, duster and all. All I could think was God he is sexy, before the world around me started to fade away.

"ROZA!"

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

This has to be the hardest chapter I have written so far, I will let you know, this is the LAST thing that they will have to deal with. It will be rainbows and gumdrops from here on out, well for the most part, I mean, Rose will have to overcome what happened, which she will no doubt, right?

Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, and the next will post hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning.


	36. Part 3: Chapter 8: Forever Girl

_**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or any of its Characters!**_

 _ **Enjoy as always and R &R! **_

_**Part 3: Chapter 8: Forever Girl**_

 _ **DPOV**_

I drove around aimlessly, trying to find anything to take my mind off of my current depression. However, everywhere I went, I was reminded of My Roza. The park, where I watched her play with the kids during Christmas break. Thinking of how wonderful it will be when it was our own children she was playing with. The diner, we go there after every home game and get chocolate milkshakes. She always drinks half of mine after finishing hers. I gripe at her every time, but now I would give anything to be sitting there with her now. The campus, where we walk between classes together, either holding hands or my arm draped over her shoulder, hers around my waist, recreating our highschool days. The cafe, where I would watch her in her element, enjoying being free and happy.

Everywhere.

Part of me felt like I would never see her again, that I should prepare myself for the inevitable. Then the other part, I wanted to knock down every door from her to kingdom come to find her. I would never give up on looking for her, I would fight till my last breath.

I was back on the interstate, headed in the same direction her phone had shown her going. No destination in mind, I just drove. The bluetooth in my truck went off, MOB BOSS, flashed on the dash.

"What, Abe?" I didn't want to talk to anyone, he knew that.

"You need to get home, NOW!" he yelled.

"What's going on?" I was starting to freak out.

"Just come home now, I will tell you when you get here."

"I'll be there in ten." I hung up the phone, hit the first exit I could and hauled ass back to the house.

My mind running the whole time, did they find her? Was she okay? I pulled into the drive, tires coming to a screeching halt as I got to the garage.

Abe and Pavel were loading the Suburban with all types of stuff. Guns, knives, some rope and a huge plastic sheet, what the fuck are they doing?

"What the hell is going on? Did you find her?"

"One of my contacts called, they saw him in a small town about two hours away, he was buying food. They are following him and will update us when they see where he goes to."

"Was she with him?"

"No, he was alone, but they said he was buying quite a bit, stocking up I would assume. If we hurry up, we should be able to get there shortly after he gets back to where ever she is."

Without another word, we loaded into the Suburban and headed back north. When we reached the point that we lost her GPS, Abe took an exit about three miles ahead. He had gotten off the interstate right after we lost the signal, what is the chance of that?

We drove for an hour, I was trembling with anxiety, I was going to get my Roza and bring her home. My heart was racing faster as Abe's phone began ringing.

"Hello…. Are you sure..." he rambled an address to Pavel, who put it in the GPS, "Okay, we are only thirty minutes from there… If you see her, you go in and get her, I don't care what you have to do… Well, try to leave him alive until I get there… Thank you, call me if anything changes." he hung up.

"They are in a cabin off Green River in Kentucky. They are staged outside now and won't move in unless they see her."

"Kentucky? What the hell is there?"

"Apparently, nothing, which for him was perfect."

"She has been two hours away this whole time?"

"It would appear so, Son." he looked at me in the rear view, "We couldn't have known, don't do that to yourself."

He could see the pain in my eyes, she is so close, how could I not have found her? Yeah, he left the state, but still two hours away and I had no idea.

"Dimitri, I know you are anxious to get her back, we all are, but you have to be prepared for what we might find." Pavel said.

"I know." I rasped out, the thought of finding Rose, broken, hurt or worse, I couldn't breath. _She will be okay, she is okay._ I repeated the mantra in my head, over and over again. She has to be okay.

We turned off onto a dirt road, I was looking around, there was nothing out here. We were at least twenty minutes from the closest town. My heart was beating out of my chest as we pulled up next to the truck Abe's contact sat in. We were parked about fifty yards from the cabin.

"Anything?" Abe asked the man.

"No Sir, he went in with the groceries, we saw a few lights turn on, but the windows are too dirty to see in."

"Are you.." I didn't hear the rest of his question. I took off in a dead sprint for the door.

I could hear Abe trying to call me, but he didn't want to yell and alert Ben that we were here. I was not five feet from the door when I heard a gunshot go off.

"NOOOO!" I yelled as I kicked in the door.

The sight before me took my already ragged breath away. Roza lay on the floor, Ben on top of her, neither of them moving. Roza's eyes were locked right to mine, slowly they started to close.

"ROZA!" I ran to her, grabbing Ben's shirt and throwing him into the wall. I felt like superman, the strength I held right now was unbelievable.

"Roza, baby, open your eyes, please love, look at me." I pleaded with her. Looking over her body I didn't see any sign of harm, the gun was firmly in her hand. I pried it away from her fingers and heard Abe enter the house.

Taking in the sight of his daughter, he was broken, but looking over to the man responsible, he was murderous. Before he could move though, I was already in his face.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" I yelled as loud as I could, I began repeatedly punching him in the face.

"I...I didn't…" he tried to sputter out, his mouth dripping with his own blood.

" _YOU..FUCKING...BASTARD.._ " I enunciated every word with a punch to his stomach.

"He will be lucky if he is still breathing by the time I am done." Abe muttered, "Dimitri, get my daughter out of here, take the truck. I will handle him, she needs help."

I could hardly hear him, rage thundered in my ears, red hazed my vision. I continued to pumble him, every hit I landed, visions flashed in my head. Him taking her, him touching her, hurting her, I wanted him to pay, I wanted him to feel physically what I have been feeling emotionally for weeks. I wanted him dead.

"Dimitri, Son, stop." Abe put a hand on my shoulder. "Go to her, let me handle this."

I looked over to Rose, her eyes were still closed, breathing seemed even, that was a good sign. I breathed deeply and crawled across the floor.

"Роза, моя Роза, пожалуйста, детка, не оставляй меня, пожалуйста, проснись" (Roza, My Roza, please baby, don't leave me, Please wake up)

I cradled her in my arms, she felt lighter, more delicate. I was careful not to jolt her around and walked toward the door. Pavel was walking in with the supplies they had packed into the SUV. I heard Abe say, "Now, how about we have a talk about what you did to my daughter?" before the door closed and I walked away.

I laid Roza down in the passenger seat, checking her over more thoroughly to see the extent of her injuries. Her head was bleeding, wrist were raw and bruised, but I didn't see a bullet hole. That was my main concern. I googled the closest hospital, setting the navigation, I headed off. Pleading with Roza the whole way, in both languages. I needed her to be okay, I needed her to wake up, I just needed her.

As I drove, I continued to look over at Rose. She wasn't moving at all, but her breathing remained steady. I can't lose her now, I just found her. Again the mantra coursed through my head, _she will be okay, she will be okay._

Pulling up to the front of the hospital, I raced inside and grabbed the first nurse I saw.

"Please help me, my wife is unconscious and her head is bleeding badly." I rushed out in a single breath.

A team of people ran out to the truck, two others followed with a stretcher. I watched them carefully load Roza onto the bed and roll her away. I wanted to follow, but one nurses stopped me.

"They have to take her for scanning. She is in good hands now, come with me and we can get started on her paperwork."

I followed her to the desk, she handed me a stack of papers, I stared at it for a moment. There were a thousand questions on here. I don't even know if I know the answers to all of them, but I had nothing else to do. I took a seat in the waiting room, texted Abe and begin to fill in the blanks.

Name, Date of Birth, Sex, Age, all the basics, I got that. Then family history and personal history, well I know almost all of that. I doubt there is much she ever kept from me. Next, Medications. Her birth control.

As that realization hit me, I wanted to go back to that cabin and castrate him. I swear if he got her pregnant I would...well, I really don't know what I would do. The thought of raising his child killed me, then again would she want to?

I assumed he raped her, but I wasn't sure, I didn't stop beating him long enough to find out. I know Abe would though. _Cross that bridge if it comes, don't think about it until you know more._ I continued to fill in the answers.

Abe arrived fifteen minutes.

"Done already?" I tried to joke, but it sounded more astonished, I figured he would drag out the torture.

"You didn't leave me with much to do, beside, the gunshot wound was draining him. I called in the police so they could handle that."

"So she did shoot him. I didn't see anything on her, but I wasn't sure that it had hit him. Is he going to make it?"

"I don't know, we didn't help the blood loss. The shot landed in his abdomen, so there is a chance, but right now, well, it doesn't look good."

"Let's not tell her about that."

"Agreed. So, did you get that all filled out?" he looked at the stack of papers I still held.

"Most of it, one thing is worrying me though." I showed him her medication list. His eyes darkened. "Did he say if.." I couldn't finish, I had thought it, but saying it was another matter.

"No. He said he kept her locked in the back room and withheld everything from her. He wanted to beat her down, so she would become reliant on him."

I felt he was lying, the way his eyes darkened at the same realization I held, he was defiantly hiding something. I nodded and moved back over to the waiting room chair. With Abe's help we finished her paperwork and turned it in, now we wait.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

 _Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep_

What the hell is that?

 _Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep_

"Dimka, you should go back to the hotel and sleep." Olena said, I would know her voice anywhere.

"I can't, Mama, I have to be here when she wakes up." I heard the silky smooth Russian accent of my husband, reply.

"We have no idea how long it will be, the doctors said she is stable and you need sleep."

 _Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep_

Heart rate monitor. I wasn't in the cabin anymore, I don't think I have ever been grateful to hear that annoying ass beeping.

"I will be fine, I am not leaving her, that's final."

I felt his warm hand close around mine, sending fire through my body at the loving contact, such a contrast to what I have felt for the past two weeks. I felt like I was in a limbo, between awake and asleep. The comfort of him in the dark was more than welcome. I wanted to open my eyes, I wanted to move, but I couldn't. My brain and body were not communicating, I could hear everything, even feel, but I couldn't respond.

Soft lips pressed to my forehead, "Wake up soon, Roza, Dimka is going crazy. I love you, docha'."

I am trying, I just can't. I heard a door slide open, then close, silence filled the air. Come on stupid hand, move! I wanted to let Dimitri know I could hear him, that I was here and I love him, even if he won't love me after I tell him everything. The door opened again.

"Olena told me you don't want to leave, but you need to get some sleep, Dimitri. I will stay with her, go get some food and rest."

Baba.

"Neither of you are going to make me leave, why can't you just accept that and leave us be?"

"Because we care, nothing is going to change in the next few hours, doc said that the swelling was going down, but it would be a while before she wakes up. Go get a shower, grab some lunch and take a nap at the hotel."

"I don't want her to wake up and not be here, she needs me." his voice was thick with emotion.

He was right, I did need him, but I needed him to take care of himself too, if only I could freaking wake up now so he would go get some sleep. Again, I tried to move, open my eyes, something.

"What happened to him?" Dimitri asked.

"He didn't make it." Baba replied.

My heart constricted in my chest, hammering rapidly, the monitor beeping increased. I didn't want to think about _him_ , but my mind wouldn't stop, his hands, his face, recounting every moment. Wait, did he say he didn't make it? He's dead?

"What's happening, why is her heart rate going crazy?"

I heard shuffling, Dimitri was calling out for me, and several other voices were joining in with his.

"Sir, please step outside for a moment, let us figure out what's going on."

"Come on, Dimitri, now." Baba ordered.

The voices began to fade, I felt tired, really tired. I gave in, if my body wouldn't do what I wanted it to, I would shut my mind off with it.

* * *

 _ **She's dancing in a field**_

 _ **A flower in her hair  
Sitting on my tailgate**_

 _ **I can't help but stare  
Summer sun a shining  
On her tan skin  
I can feel her love  
Blowing like the wind**_

Was I in heaven, I swear I could hear angels singing.

 _ **Yes I can  
We head out to the lake  
Feet hanging off the dock  
And talking everything  
Sharing every little thought**_

 _Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep_

Nope, not heaven, the monitor is still beeping, well I guess that's a good thing.

I could start to make out the words, it was my favorite song, Dimitri always sang it to me whenever it came on the radio.

 _ **We take a dip in the water  
As the sun set on down  
Ain't nothing like her wet hair  
And the crickets sound  
It's a glass of wine to keep her sane  
And I love the sound of her full name  
Natural southern beauty  
Can't explain what it does to me**_

 _ **She's everything in my whole world  
That's my forever girl**_

I squeezed his hand and he stopped, "Roza?", if I could see his face right now, I'm sure he would look like a child on christmas, his voice held such hope in just one word.

"Keep…" I tried to talk, but it hurt, my throat was so dry.

 _ **We ride around in my truck  
Singing our songs  
She's looking so damn good  
WIth that sundress on**_

He let go of my hand, a second later I felt something touch my lips, "Drink, Roza.", he continued to sing.

 _ **She slides on over**_  
 _ **I hold her tight**_  
 _ **And I say darling**_  
 _ **Thank god that you're mine**_  
 _ **It's a glass of wine to keep her sane**_  
 _ **And I love the sound of her full name**_  
 _ **Natural southern beauty**_  
 _ **Can't explain what it does to me**_  
 _ **She's everything in my whole world**_  
 _ **That's my forever girl**_

 _ **It's a glass of wine to keep her sane  
And I love the sound of her full name  
Natural southern beauty  
Can't explain what it does to me  
She's everything in my whole world  
That's my forever girl  
That's my forever girl  
That's my forever girl**_

The sultry sound of his voice wrapped around me, I felt like I was home. I didn't realize how just the sound of his voice can bring peace to me. He always had a knack for calming me with only a touch, but it's him, all of him, he brings peace to my world. With my eyes closed, I could imagine we were anywhere I wanted to be, on the beach in Grand Cayman again, or on the ship, consummating our love for the first time. I wasn't scared, I wasn't hurt, I was happy. Here in my own little bubble away from the torment of reality. But I wanted to see him, I wanted to drink in every last bit of him that I could.

I tried to open my eyes, the lights were so bright though, "Can you turn the lights off?", my voice sounded forgin to me, raspy and low, but at least I could speak. I heard him move away again.

"There off, Roza."

I tried again, blinking several times.

"There's those beautiful eyes I have missed so much." he leaned forward to kiss my head, I flinched back. "Sorry, I didn't think.."

I didn't mean to flinch at his loving gesture, but as I opened my eyes and took in my surrounding, reality did indeed set in. I was scared in general, being awake was so different than being asleep. Asleep, or half conscious I should say, I lavished in the feeling of his skin touching mine, his honey like voice caressing my ears. Awake however, looking into Dimitri's soft brown eyes, they turned blue, I couldn't see past my fear to my loving husband.

"It's okay, I missed you, too. How long have I been out?" I tried to roll over it, I didn't want him to think I was afraid of _him_.

"A few days, you cracked your head pretty good." sitting back in the chair, he looked down, "I was so scared, Rose, I thought I would never see you again."

"Hey, look at me," he slowly lifted his head, I could see the tears ready to fall, "I am okay, well, I will be. I am here, you can't get rid of me that easy, Comrade." I joked, trying to conceal the fear I was still holding. It would take a long while to get over this, would he stay?

"I never want to lose you, to think I had," he paused, his voice full of anguish. "I am so sorry, Roza. This is my fault, I should have never let this happen."

You say that now, just wait, I thought, you don't know what happened, or does he? I will find out later, right now I need him to stop punishing himself.

"Don't blame yourself, _you_ didn't do this, he did. _You_ found me, that's what matters."

"He shouldn't have been able to get to you, I should have been a man and stepped up and talked to you instead of pushing you away. If I had, this would have never happened. I am sorry, so sorry."

"Stop, Dimitri. Stop blaming yourself, stop apologizing, just stop, please. It's over, we will move on in time and get on with our lives. So, please, I need you to be here for me, not blame yourself for something that was out of your control."

"When did you become the level headed one?"

"When I married the master of Zen Life Lessons." I laughed.

"I'm going to get the Doctor to check on you. I will be right back."

A few minutes later, a pretty young Doctor walked in, Dimitri right behind her.

"Hello, Rose, it's good to see you awake, I am Doctor Ivashkov and before you ask, yes I am related to Adrian."

"Wow, what are the chances of that?" I laughed, "So, how bad is it?"

"Dimitri said the same thing," she laughed, "Well, you did quite the number on your head, small skull fracture with some swelling. We were able to get that under control pretty quickly. You may still have some headaches and dizziness, but overall your scans and vitals show to be fine."

"So when can I go home?"

"We want to keep an eye on you one more day, as long as we don't have any trouble in the next twenty four hours, you can leave then."

I nodded, "Where are we anyways?"

"Kentucky, two hours from home." Dimitri answered.

Really, I have been so close to home this whole time? It felt like we were driving for a lot longer than that.

Dimitri caught my look, "Yeah, I thought the same thing."

"Try to rest, Rose, myself or the nurse will check on you every few hours, so sleep while you can. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us."

The Doctor left and Dimitri came to sit back by the bed. I took a moment to finally get a good look at him, he looked like he had aged ten years in the last two weeks. His hair was dull, the underneath of his eyes were dark and hollow, his skin pale and he seemed thinner, like he hasn't eaten in a while.

"When was the last time you slept or ate a decent meal?" I asked, giving him my don't try and lie face.

"The night before you left."

"Comrade!" I knew he would have had a hard time, but he needed to take care of himself, too.

"What? You wanted me to answer honestly, didn't you?" he raised his brow.

"Yes." I grunted, "Look, you have seen me awake, I am breathing and well on my way to recovery. Will you please go to the hotel, shower and eat something, then get some sleep."

"I am fine.." I attempted to raise a brow at him, he laughed, "Fine, but I will send Abe or Mama over to sit with you. No arguments."

"Fine, sleep well, Comrade."

'You too, Roza, I love you."

"I love you, too."

As the door closed behind him, I let go of the pain I was harnessing. I tried to sound brave, like it didn't bother me, honestly, I think he bought it. Probably only because he is wrapped up in his own self guilt. I wanted so badly to be wrapped in his arms, him hold me and tell me everything will be alright. To smell his aftershave and own personal scent, draw it in like a drug and never let go. To enjoy him while I can, he surely isn't going to want me after he finds out what happened.

I fell asleep about ten minutes after Dimitri left, but it didn't stay that way. Nightmares plagued my dreams, images from the cabin, the events of that room, fighting for my life. I felt trapped, trapped in the house, trapped in my own mind. I needed out, now, but I couldn't.

I could feel his hands on me, the cold metal of the handcuffs still hanging on my wrist. Those ocean blue eyes filled with such malice and possessiveness. The sound of his voice as he talked about "our future", the sounds he made during the night events, the words he would say. All of it, clear as day, on continuous replay.

"Rosemarie! Wake up!"

I bolted straight up in the hospital bed, gasping for air. I felt a hand touch my arm and jerked away, I didn't want anyone to touch me, who would want to?

"Rosemarie?"

I looked into the concerned eyes of my father, the same eyes I had.

"It's okay, Rose, it was just a dream, you are safe now." he said.

"It wasn't a dream though, it was real, every single part was real." The memories were still dancing around in my head, everytime I blinked his face would flash before my eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know how." I lowered my head, hoping he doesn't see the tears cascading down my cheeks.

"Anyway you want or can, Kiz. Whenever you are ready, we are all here for you."

I nodded, there was one question I had for him, I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer, but I needed to.

"What did you do to him?" I looked into my father's eyes.

"I didn't kill him, if that is what you are wanting to know. I got the information I wanted and called the authorities to take care of him. I wanted to, I wanted him to pay, but I knew you wouldn't be happy if I did anything worse."

I remembered him saying Ben was dead, if he didn't kill him, what did.

"I heard you, you told Dimitri he didn't make it, if you didn't do it..."

"He lost a lot of blood, due to multiple things, he wasn't able to recover from it."

"You're lying. What happened?"

He let out a heavy sigh, mulling something over in his head, like he didn't know if he should tell me. I gave him a pointed look, finally he said, "The gun shot. It pierced his stomach and sliced through major organs, they weren't able to repair them."

"I killed him.", it wasn't a question, I knew that my hand took his life. I hated what he became, but I didn't want him to die, especially because of me.

Dad didn't say anything, what could he say? Not only to the fact that I killed someone, but knowing what happened before then. How much did Ben tell him before he died?

"How much...how much did he tell you?" my voice cracked, tears descending faster down my face. He reached forward, I flinched away.

"Everything." his tone just as broken as mine.

I let the sobs take over, my whole body convulsing. My father knew of everything he did to me, how can he even look at me. How can he be in the same room? I felt used and worthless at this moment, I have since the first time he did it. If Dad knows…

"Do..does Dimitri…" I couldn't get the words out.

"No. I didn't tell him, he asked but I only told him about you being locked in the room, not what happened in it."

"He's not going to want me after he finds out." burying my head in my hands, the fear I had of losing Dimitri was a hundred times worse than any fear I felt over the last two weeks.

"You don't have to tell him right away, take your time to process, you decide when you want to fill him in on the rest, if ever."

"I can't keep that from him, he deserves to know how disgusting I am."

"You are not, Rosemarie." He moved closer to the bed, "Look at me! Nothing that happened was your fault, therefore, it does not make you disgusting or worthless. It makes you strong, because you fought and you made it out. It makes you a survivor. Dimitri will understand, he loves you, he won't turn his back on you for anything. The only reason I say you do tell him, is simply because those events, they will bother you for some time. He needs to know, only to not do something to trigger those memories."

I understood his logic, but how am I supposed to tell my husband about another man defiling me. Would he ever kiss me again, knowing what passed my lips? I was grateful that he never went beyond that, being off my birth control and my cycle getting thrown out of whack is the only reason he didn't get further. If he had, I am sure Dimitri would never feel the same toward me. He is the only man I ever wanted to do anything with, now that has all changed, even if it wasn't by choice, it still happened. Will he be able to forgive that, look past it and still love me?

I nodded my head and laid back on the bed again. I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and wake up to find this was all a dream, a nightmare. That wasn't going to happen though, it was all real, very real and I had to get through it.

I knew my father would never abandon me, there was no doubt in my mind about that. However, I worried that Dimitri would, I know, I know, I shouldn't, but I do. After Jesse, he was there, only, this time things are different. Jesse didn't get the chance to assault me, Ben did. Then add on the fact that I murdered him, even if it was a him or me situation. Would that matter to him? Would he see me differently after receiving the knowledge of what occurred in that cabin? I would never doubt that he would still love me, just that he wouldn't be able to look me the same way.

With that last fleeting thought, I drifted back into the dark abyss.

* * *

Authors Note:

* * *

Sorry it took an extra day to get this up, work has been crazy and I have had my two oldest nephews occupying my time at home. Thank you for all the new favorites and follows over the last few chapters. Also the reviews, we are almost at 150! Can we make it before the next chapter comes out?

Song used: Forever Girl by Jon Langston- I don't own that either


	37. Part 3: Chapter 9: Gone, Gone, Gone

_**Part 3: Chapter 9: Gone, Gone, Gone**_

 _ **RPOV**_

I was released from the hospital the next day with a clean bill of health, well physically. Mentally, I was still a wreck and would be for some time. Doctor Ivashkov, or Olivia I now call her, had given me her number and a contact for a psychiatrist she recommended back home in Arlington. Yeah, I am going home. Being here has done nothing but bring problems to my life. I failed at getting a recording offer, I was barely passing my classes, that was only because Dad and Dimitri were helping so much. My place of utter peace had been stripped away, I couldn't even think of walking in the Cafe anymore. Plus, as much as it killed me to admit, being around Dimitri, Ivan and Vika, well I couldn't relax.

I wouldn't tell them though, I tried my hardest to act like I was well on my way to being stable again, but I was nowhere near it. I kicked Dimitri out of our room after only two nights, now he is sleeping in the guest quarters. I was still having the nightmares, but I didn't want anyone around to witness everytime I would wake up screaming and crying from one. Dimitri would often come to the door after hearing my terrified screams, but I would never let him in.

I still haven't told him exactly what happened inside that cabin. I keep thinking, I am making to big a deal out of it, it could have been worse, there were women out there that have gone through way worse. For me though, this was a fate worse than death. Not only because I was kidnapped, not because he forced me to perform sexual favors for him, not even the fact of my hand taking his life, but he ruined the greatest thing I have ever had. No matter if things ever get back to normal for Dimitri and I, he is no longer the only man I have ever been with. That, that is what burdened me beyond anything else.

Spring break was next week, so I would stay until we were all due to travel back home. At the end of the week, everyone else would return to Nashville, while I remained home in Arlington. Olena offered for me to stay in Dimitri's room, but being surrounded with all of his stuff, his smell that never seemed to fade from the sheets, I didn't know if I could do it, it would make me miss him too much.

I needed and wanted to be alone. I wanted to fight my battles like I always have, by myself. Granted, the last time I did that, I fell down a deep dark hole, but I was determined to not let that happen again. I had a lot to work on for me first, then I would focus on Dimitri and I. I was upset with myself more than anything else.

I chose to walk away that night, If I would have just let him be in the room, he would have come out to talk when he was ready. Instead I went after him, only causing us to get upset and me to leave. It's funny, the same events that led to Ben taking me, are the same events that led him to me in the first place. Dimitri and I walking away from each other, here I was about to do it again.

"Milaya?" Dimitri asked through the closed door.

I went to the door, taking a few deep breaths, opening it I took in the face of my husband, he looked so broken. He has since we came home. I keep pushing him further and further away, trying to prepare for the inevitable.

"Comrade?"

"Did you want to come down for dinner tonight, or should I bring you something up?"

"I'm not hungry, thank you though." I started to close the door, his hand struck out and stopped me.

"I know this has been hard, Roza, but please stop pushing us all away, we only want to help. You need to eat and get out of this room for a little while. How about you come have dinner with me, then we can take a walk together?"

I mulled it over and over in my head, food doesn't sound appetizing, but I haven't eaten anything substantial in two weeks. When I did, I threw it back up shortly after. I know he is right, I need to get out a little bit, but I didn't want to watch everyone treat me like I will break any second. Dad was the only one who didn't tip toe around me, Vika and Ivan would just look at me with such pity that I couldn't stand to be in the room with them for more than a few minutes. Dimitri, Oh Dimitri, he was the worst of all of them, he never took his eyes off me, not for a second. When I tried to go back to class, he went to every single one with me, he even stood like a guard outside the bathroom. When we were home, he always had all the doors locked, if he found one unlocked for whatever reason, he flipped shit. I get that he is protective by nature, but damn, I can't handle it anymore. I need my space.

"Rose?" he looked at me raising his brow.

I kind of got lost in my thoughts there and never answered. I guess I could give him this little bit, after all, I will not be coming back with them after spring break.

"Yeah, sounds good, just let me change."

A small smile graced my loves face, but I could still see the unease in his eyes. He has been trying to hide it from me, but I know he is just as unsure of us, as I am. Most of it being my inability to talk to him about what happened, I want to, or rather I want to get it over with, but I can't seem to find the right way to tell him. I want to be able to tell him everything.

"Rose, we have to talk about this sooner or later." Dimitri started, we had been walking around the park for twenty minutes now, silence surrounding us.

"I know. I just don't know where or how to start." my head dropped and I stared at the pebbled ground beneath my feet.

"How about the beginning, tell me everything, starting when you left the house."

"Okay,..." I launched into my story, I told him how I felt after finding out about the TV purchase, the thoughts running in my head. I could see he wanted to interject and push those insecurities I had away, but he remained silent as we continued to walk. I told him about going to the cafe and singing the song I wrote about him. He laughed when I told him I imagined him as John Wayne and Jessie James, coming to save the damsel in distress. In the end of the later events, he really was my very own outlaw. I skipped over the actual abduction, since we had texted after I woke up in the trunk. I told him about Ben's words when we got to the cabin, about his hopes and visions he had for us. I could see his jaw clench several times, if he doesn't like that, he really won't like what I say next.

I had to stop walking, I couldn't talk about this and focus on where I was going at the same time. I found a old oak tree a little off the walking trail, I perched myself against the hard bark. I needed to feel grounded, sturdy, or I would fall apart. Taking several long, deep breaths, I continued.

"Every night, before bed...he..he would…" my throat was closing up, I wasn't ready to tell him about this, I knew I needed to, but I wasn't ready for him to leave. Putting my head between my knees, I attempted to control my erratic breathing.

"Roza, we don't have to keep going if you don't want to."

I couldn't tell if he was saying that solely for my benefit or because he wasn't ready to hear the rest. My breathing slowed and I looked up to the stars. Living just outside the city here, I could actually see them on a clear night. They glistened pure white against the stark black sky. It was almost like they were trying to talk to me. I needed to talk about this, I needed to start healing.

I took another deep breath, keeping my eyes to the stars, "He would come in the room every night, he didn't stay..but..he would come in and…" I had to stop, I couldn't find the right words.

I could see Dimitri itching to pull me to him, to wrap me up and lend me his strength. I tentatively reached out to him, taking his hand in mine. This is the first time I have touched him since he found me. The warmth of his skin spread to mine, the fire that was always there spread instantly. Lacing my fingers through his, I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

Trying again, "He made me…", how should I say this, "pleasure him." I paused, Dimitri's hand gripped mine tighter, before he could ask anything, I kept going, "He didn't do anything to me, like that, he didn't have a chance. You can thank mother nature later." I chuckled, I was desperately trying to lighten the mood as much as possible, I don't think it was working well.

"So he didn't…" I shook my head. I could see his shoulders relax slightly, "I was so worried that he had and without your birth control…"

"Like I said, you can thank mother nature later, without my pills, my cycle was off, he didn't want to mess with that. So he just found other ways to be satisfied."

"I am so sorry, Roza." he said squeezing my hand tenderly.

"It's not your fault, I have told you that a million times, Dimitri. None of this is your fault. We both made choices that led to this, we can wish we had done things differently, but in the end, we can't. You have to stop blaming yourself, we both do." whispering those last three words, I was talking more to myself than to him.

"I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I will forever wish I had done things differently, you were hurt and violated. I vowed, to always protect you, I keep failing." his voice trailed away as he spoke.

"You can't protect me from everything, Comrade. That's part of life and it's okay. I don't expect you to be able to stop every bad thing from happening."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" he was apprehensive to know the answer, I could see the pleading look in his eyes for me to say there was nothing more.

"Not much. He only touched my breast a few times, he was too focused on himself, he didn't pay me much mind. He started getting frustrated with not being able to have me any other way, so I did what I could to make him happy." Thinking about how I played into it, like I actually enjoyed it, I could feel the bile rise in my throat. I glanced at Dimitri, his jaw was set in a hard line. "You showed up after we were eating, I had kissed him, trying to get him to trust me, I needed him to let his guard down just enough. Once he did, I took advantage and grabbed the gun..."

"You can stop there, I put the rest of it together in my head when I found you." he quickly interrupted. Honestly, I was grateful, I didn't want to recount the last moments I spent with him. The moments that lead to his death.

I simply nodded, taking my hand back from him, I wrapped my arms around my legs, drawing my knees into my chest, resting my chin on top. We remained silent for a while, both letting all the words settle and process. The moment of truth was coming soon, he would either stay by me, or run for the hills. I couldn't begin to imagine a life without him, he was my husband, my lover, my best friend. I can't go through this life without him.

"You're amazing, do you know that?" he asked.

I was not expecting him to say that.

"Huh?"

"You are so brave, so strong. You did what you had to do, you played him and won."

"Yeah," my voice was a whisper, I didn't and still don't feel brave and strong. I felt disgusted with myself. I took a man's life, I played him by doing things I never would have done, had the situation been different.

"Roza, you are. I know right now it is hard to see, but you are the strongest person I know. You have overcome so many things already in life. So many things that were meant to break you, us, and you have fought and won. I am beyond amazed and proud of you."

"How can you not hate me? How can you ever want to be with me again?" There it was, my greatest fear revealed to him.

"Because, I love you." he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

I couldn't say anything, I just stared at him. What on earth did I do to deserve him?

"So, are you still wanting to go home?"

"Yes. I think it is for the best that I get away from here."

"Will we be okay?" his voice became shaky.

"We will be someday."

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I let Rose's words sink in, both of us remaining silent for a few minutes. I never wanted to know what happened to her, but in the end, I am glad she told me, my imagination was worse than reality. Knowing that he forced her into giving him oral sex pissed me off, but I was grateful that he never go to touch her _there_. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but I was happy that I was still the only one to have her. Anyways, I knew she thought I wouldn't want her, but in honesty, I wanted her more. I wanted to protect her, to love her like she should be loved. I wanted to take her pain away, shield her from anything that could ever hurt her again. I knew it was physically impossible to stop every little thing that could happen, but I would die trying. I wanted to show her the beauty that I see when I look at her. I wanted her, good, bad and ugly, all of it, forever.

The chilly night was beginning to get to Rose, I could see her starting to shiver. Picking up my duster, I wrapped it around her. I had taken it off halfway through our talk, I was feeling confined in the leather as her words smothered me.

"Come on, Roza. Let's get you home."

As we walked into the house, I could hear Abe having a conversation with someone, he wasn't speaking english, or Russian. Turkish, maybe, whatever it was he didn't sound happy. Rose and I both looked at each other, I shrugged and pushed her toward the stairs. I would go and talk to Abe about it later, she needed to rest, it's been a long night.

I walked her to our bedroom door, "I'll see you in the morning, milaya, get some rest."

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Of course." I was surprised, but didn't hesitate in my answer. She kicked me out two weeks ago, I didn't think she would ask me back at all before we left for break. "I am just going to check on Dad, I'll be back soon."

She smiled up at me and walked into the room. I closed the door behind her and headed back down to Abe's office.

His volume had calmed, but he still sounded pissed. Peaking around the door, he was on the phone. Seeing me, he held up and hand, signaling for me to give him another moment. I waited in the hall until I heard him stop talking. I looked back in and he was sitting with his head in his hands.

I walked over to the bottle of vodka he kept in the mini freezer, grabbing two shot glasses, I set them down on his desk. He looked up and smiled.

"Just what I need." he laughed, and poured one for each of us, "So, how did your talk go?"

"I could have gone my whole life without knowing what he did to her, but I am glad it's over now. She knows I am not running away and we discussed her going back home."

"She needs to do it for her, but for you too, you know that right?"

"What do you mean, for me?"

"Your career is in a balance right now, one wrong move and you can lose it all. You have been so focused on keeping her in your sight, you have fallen behind in your own life. Scouts have been asking me what happened to you, your professors are worried that you are going to fail out. You need to focus on yourself too, not just her, she will get better. With her going home, you can stay focused here and she can regain herself there. It's best for both of you."

"I'm not that far behind in my studies and the scouts, I stopped paying any attention to them a while back. I didn't even know if they would realize something was going on."

"You missed two weeks straight when she was...gone. You haven't even started catching up with how you follow her around."

"Okay, maybe I am a bit behind, but I will catch up and finish."

"You better, or you can't play. Your scholarship is for academics as well as athletics. If you slack in your studies, they will pull you off the team and pull your funding. You are almost done, don't fuck up now.", he was now in full father mode. Sometimes I wish he would stay Coach, but I guess right now it wouldn't matter either way. Coach side is probably just as upset as Dad.

"Yes, Sir."

I wanted to ask about the phone call, considering I didn't understand the language, I would assume it was something to do with his business or someone back in Turkey.

"What?"

"I was just wondering what language you were speaking earlier, I don't think I have ever heard it."

"Turkish, and you want to know what it was about." he gave me a pointed look, I shrugged, letting him decide. "My long lost brother," he rolled his eyes, "got himself in a bit of trouble. He wanted me to bail him out."

"I didn't even know you had a brother. I thought your family was gone?"

"The important ones, yes, but my younger brother, Aydin, well he fell away from us a long time ago. Only calls when he gets into something that he can't get out of."

I gave a half nod as I took another ice cold shot, the burn in my throat was soothing.

"Rose asked me to come back to the room tonight."

"You think that is a good idea?"

"I will be where she wants me, if she decides she doesn't want me there in the middle of the night, I will leave."

"She still been screaming the last few nights, let's see if you help with keeping the nightmares away."

"I hope so. Good night, Dad." I stood and headed back upstairs.

I opened the door slowly, I didn't want to disturb her if she had already fallen asleep. I stood at the foot of the bed, slowly undressing while I watched my beautiful wife rest. I still can't believe she thought I would hate her, or never want her again. This whole thing has brought doubts into both of our minds, starting with my idiotic decision to watch that fucking show. At least I learned something good from it. When I remained only in my boxers, I pulled back the covers and lowered myself onto the bed.

Her breathing picked up immediately and I could hear the soft whimpers. I started singing to her in Russian, a lullaby my mother used to sing when we were small, she said it chased away the monsters. I laid on my side and ran my fingers through her silky hair, relishing in the feeling, it has been too long. When her breathing evened back out, I rolled onto my back, resting one hand behind my head, the other tracing idle patterns on her back.

I closed my eyes, as soon as I started to feel the darkness of sleep pull me under, Roza moved. On instinct, she cuddled into my side, my arm going around her waist in a protective grip.

She breathed deeply and sighed, "ya lyublyu tebya dimitri"

She was speaking Russian in her sleep, I laughed to myself, maybe I should start teaching her.

"I love you, Roza, Sweet dreams."

I kissed her hair and fell into a deep slumber, full of dreams of my Roza.

* * *

Author's Note:

* * *

I hope that helped clear up exactly what happened, I intentionally left the little details for when she would tell him.

I just want to say, I hope I did not offend anyone with this chapter, I tried to picture how I would deal with it, but honestly, it was hard. I have dealt with a similar situation, but not the same, again, I didn't intend to offend anyone and if I did, I sincerely apologize.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, back to the work grind for me. R&R to keep me awake!

Thank You!


	38. Part 3: Chapter 10: Far Away

_**Disclaimer: I do not own VA.**_

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 10: Far Away**_

 _ **RPOV**_

We spent spring break at my house, with all of us coming down, it was easier. Ivan spent time with his parents with Vika, Dimitri and I focused on time with Mama and the family. We were back to "normal", sleeping in the same bed, spending time alone together. Most of it was just enjoyable silence, but having him near was comforting. He even took me out for dinner and a movie for my 21st birthday, since they would be back in Nashville on the actual day. I was happy enough with that, I couldn't even think about having a big blow out birthday anymore. I just wanted peace and quite, so he gave it to me. The nightmares had stopped with him next to me at night and were few and far between after they went back home.

Dad had arranged for me to meet with the psychiatrist that Olivia had recommended, that was exciting, not. I have been going three times a week for a month now. She constantly asked questions, she would never just talk to me, she combated everything I said with another question. It was infuriating, but in a way it was helping, so I tried to not get upset over it. The weird thing was she never asked about Ben, or what happened. She focused on my feelings and insecurity toward Dimitri and I's marriage.

"How are we feeling today, Rose?" Deirdre asked.

"Better than yesterday."

"Did something happen?" she asked, pulling her notebook up in her lap as she crossed her legs. She looked at me expectantly and then started writing as I spoke.

"Not really, Dimitri was approached by a LA Angels scout. I had a mini breakdown thinking of having move to California."

"Are you going to follow him?"

"Well, we haven't talked about it at length yet, but I plan too. Where he goes, I will go."

"How do you feel about that? Do you want to follow him around for the rest of your life, or would you rather venture out into something else?"

"I don't mind, besides, I married him to be with him. Why would I take off to do something else?"

"To chase your own dreams?"

"That ship has sailed, my dream was to be a singer. Now, I will be taking over my dad's business, which I can do from anywhere in the world."

"Hmm. So why the "breakdown", what frightened you?"

"We both want him to sign with a Texas team, so I can stay here and be with our family. I don't really like the idea of moving somewhere that I have no support. He will have to travel a lot, I don't want to be alone in a unfamiliar place." My voice was hardly audible by the time I finished. I hated to admit that I was too scared to venture out and be away from my family.

"There is nothing wrong with admitting you need help, Rose. Your here aren't you?"

"I know, but I feel I am burdening them to a point. I rely on Olena and Karolina to always be around. Even Sonja has been supportive and loving, I don't want to lose that."

"Why don't you just stay here then? If he is traveling all the time anyways, why move and follow him?" it was a valid question, she didn't understand how baseball worked I guess.

"From February to October, he will be playing all over the country, but he will have home games too. If I stayed here, I would only see him for four months out of the year. If I move, I get those four months, plus all the nights he is home for games and the few days off they get."

She nodded, "I understand that, but would it be worth your mental stability to be away from your support system?"

"He will support me."

"I don't doubt that he will, but when he is gone. You said yourself, you are scared to be alone, how will you handle that?"

"I don't know."

She nodded and continued to write, "I want you to think about that before our next session. Your doing well, Rose, but I want you to be stable and comfortable before you make any huge decisions."

"Okay, thank you." I stood up from the overpriced chair, you would think that thing would be more comfortable, and headed home.

When I got home, as I always did after meeting with her, I sat in front of the TV and flipped on some mindless reality show. Mulling over the last question she asked, I need to find something to keep me grounded for when he is away. I was still writing and singing, I just wasn't recording them anymore. I would start taking online classes next semester to finish my degree. I didn't feel like a classroom setting was going to help any, besides, online I can move at my own pace. Maybe I could keep taking my self defense classes, I started those a few days after we came back, Dimitri helped me find a place that focused on teaching women who have been assault victims. We both thought it would be a good idea, they were actually helping a lot, getting to beat the shit out of inanimate object was extremely satisfying.

My body was taking a liking to the new workouts as well. My arms were toned and my abdomen was flatter, starting to show a bit of muscle. My waist thinned out making my hips more prominent, my thighs thick, but not overly so, just solid and defined. I felt better, physically and emotionally when I went to work out. Knowing I could express my anger and learn to defend myself should I need to, was exhilarating. Plus,with the changes to accommodate the new power, well I had to admit, I felt dead sexy. I haven't felt good about myself in a while, but I was getting there, slowly but surely.

Two months flew by and before I knew it, I was heading back to Nashville to watch Dimitri's last game. They didn't qualify to go to the Series this year, much to everyone's disappointment, but with everything that had happened, they still had a decent season.

I haven't seen him since they returned to school after spring break. We talked every night on the phone, but I was eager to be with him again, in every way. After discussing the whole TV thing, the Ben escapade and the recovery process, we were doing well. He was focused on his studies and playing at his best. While I was focused on finding myself again, overcoming the trials that tried to break me. I know some people thought it was weird that we kept apart during this time, but it worked for us. Plus, we will have to learn to deal with being apart for a good portion of the year anyways.

Deirdre and I have talked about everything at great lengths. I found that training was the best thing for me to keep occupied and feeling good about myself. So I would continue that no matter where I had to go to be with him. Writing was still helping, but I found that I was focusing more on the bad memories than the good, so I slowed down on that. I also took to reading, Dimitri would be happy about that. Picking a random book at the store, I would read when I was feeling lost to myself. Going to another place in my head made it easier to think and process my feelings.

She also encouraged me to attempt at rekindling mine and Dimitri's physical relationship. In all truth and honesty, I couldn't wait to be with him again. I missed the feeling of large rough hands as they caressed my body, I wonder if he will like the changes from all the training? I miss the silk feeling of his hair wrapped around my fingers. The feel of his lips on mine, the taste of his tongue as it battles mine. I was nervous about it, but at the same time, I was excited beyond belief. Soon, soon I will be back with him and we will cross the last hurdle in our way back to normal.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

"Dimka, will you please stop!"

"Stop what, Vika? I am just cleaning up a little bit."

"You have cleaned the same spot ten times in the last half hour, settle down already."

"I just want the house to look perfect when she gets home, is that a problem?"

"When I am trying to relax, yes."

"Go relax in your room if it's bothering you."

Rose would be home in a few hours and there was still so much to do. I cleaned our room, top to bottom, twice. Did all the washing, including sheets and blankets. Even plugged in the scentsy thing with her favorite scent, the whole room smelt like a christmas tree farm. I made sure all the dishes were cleaned up from every room, vacuumed and mopped, again twice. I also rearranged all the furniture in the living room, making it more open and homey. It needed to be perfect and comfortable for her. I was nervous about her being back here. So many bad memories in the city, but I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms again.

I thought when we got married, we were done spending nights apart. Well other than when I had to travel for games. I never saw us being seperated by choice. I know why she left, I get it, but I have missed her like one would miss a limb. We both needed this though, it actually has helped us both with getting our lives back on track. Abe had told us to focus on ourselves, we wouldn't be able to support the other if we couldn't take care of ourselves.

So I have been busting my ass at school trying to catch up, I did, I graduate next week with my Bachelors in Business Management. Then on the field trying to get the attention of the scouts. I have talked to fifteen different teams, including the Astros and the Rangers. I am really pulling for one of them over the others. I would love to be back home in Texas. The draft started at the end of the month, cross your fingers.

As I walked around the house for the thousandth time in the last hour, my phone started ringing.

"Hey Gallo."

" _Hey D, how have you been?"_

"Doing alright for now, we have our last game tonight and I graduate next week. Any news from your scouts?"

" _Yeah, I am actually on my way with them to your game. I wanted to give you a heads up that we would be there. Don't mess up!"_

"No pressure, right. It would have been better if you hadn't told me."

" _Probably, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't let you know?"_

"A great one, now I have to worry about them too, Rose is coming back today and I have enough on my plate already."

" _How is she doing? I talked to her a few weeks back at Opening Day, but nothing since."_

"She told me about that, thanks by the way. She is doing a lot better, but I don't know how she will be once she gets _here_."

" _She's strong, she will be fine. Oh, the guys are on their way back, I got to go. We will see you soon. Tell Rose I said hey."_

"I will, thanks Joey."

Well damn.

I continued to pace around the house waiting for Rose. Thinking about how it will be when she gets here, about the game that I need to be a hundred and ten percent at, about what would happen after tonight. I heard the garage open and knew Rose was home. I turned on the pot of coffee for her and waited in the kitchen.

She walked through the door and I couldn't help but stare. She looked older, more mature, than the last time I saw her. It's only been a few months, how could she have grown so much. Her delicate five foot seven frame was now encrusted with muscle. Her arms were thicker and you could see the definition in her biceps. Her waist was slimmer, giving her body more defined curve in the hips. Her legs, God her legs, they appeared longer in the short shorts she wore, just as toned as the rest of her body. Bringing my gaze back up, I paused on her chest, maybe it was my own wishing, but her breast appeared larger too. Damn, my wife is sexy.

I continued my heated look all the way back to her eyes, those deep brown eyes that I love so much. Her hair was longer too, but still looked as silky as it was the last time I ran my hands through it.

"See something you like, Comrade?" lust coated her velvet voice. I didn't miss her looking me up and down as well.

"No…" before I could finish, she was running toward me.

I caught her as she jumped to wrap her body to mine. Her arms around my neck, legs wrapping firmly around my waist. My arms went around her and I tightened them as much as I could without hurting her. Burying my nose into her hair, I breathed deeply.

"I have missed you, Roza - so, so much." I whispered into her hair.

She pulled back to look in my eyes, "I missed you too, Comrade."

I leaned forward, resting my forehead to hers, I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I wasn't sure if she was ready for that. We haven't kissed since before she was taken, I didn't want to push her. Her tongue darted out and licked her lips, I moved ever so slowly to close the distance, she met me halfway. As my lips met hers, I felt like I was whole. The sweet taste of her cherry lip gloss danced on my lips, the softness of hers moulding to mine. I was finally home.

She ran her hands up my neck, looking for the hair tie that would normally be at nape of my neck.

"Dimitri!" she gasped out as she realized it wasn't there. "What did you do?"

"Took you longer than I thought it would." I laughed. "I didn't do anything, your father is to blame."

"BABA!" she bellowed, jumping out of my hold. As if on que, Abe walked out of his office laughing. "What did you do to him!?"

"He lost a bet."

"More like a deal with the devil." I mumbled, trying not to laugh. I was actually torn about how to feel about my hair being chopped off.

"Explain! NOW!"

"I told him he couldn't go one day without saying your name. He lost in the first hour, so he had to cut his hair."

"It wasn't even fair, I was asleep, you played dirty."

"Bout time you learned that lesson, Son. I always play dirty."

Rose ran her hands through my now two inch long hair. It was shorter, but had grown a little in the last few weeks. Running her nails down my scalp, I bit back the moan that started to build in my throat. Then she fisted as much as she could at the back of my head, I couldn't stop the growl of painful pleasure that time.

"I can still work with that. It does look quite good on you, but I loved your long hair." she said with a cheeky grin.

"No time for that, we have to a game to get ready for." Abe interjected.

"Can it old man, this is your fault anyways. You made him sexier, thanks." she laughed at him.

"Roza, let's not push him today. I don't want to deal with a pissed off coach later."

"Fine, later." she walked away, headed for the bedroom. I watched the sway of her hips, her plumb ass shaking back and forth, taunting me.

"Definitely later."

* * *

Author's Note:

* * *

I know this was a bit shorter than normal, I needed to fast forward just a bit. But the next few chapters will be much longer, only 4 more till Run Home, Comrade comes to a end.

As always, review and let me know your thoughts.


	39. Part 3: Chapter 11: Heaven

_**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or it's characters. R &R and Enjoy.**_

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 11: Heaven**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Walking away from the tempation of staying home and in bed with Roza was excruciating, but I had to get to the school and warm up. My mind was running with the thought of being with her again. I didn't want to push her into anything or move to fast, but the look in her eyes was clear, she wanted it. I would not deny her that, I couldn't if I wanted to.

Arriving at the stadium, I immediately took off around the warning track, I needed to clear my head. Ten laps later, I returned to the dugout to find the rest of my team.

"Zemy wants to see us before we start." Ivan said as he walked over with Jeffrey and Caden by his side.

"Did he say why?"

"No, you have any idea?" Jeffrey asked.

"None. Let's go." We headed toward the locker rooms.

"Why do you guys call him Zemy? In three years I haven't figured that out, what does it mean?" Caden asked.

Ivan and I exchanged looks before laughing, "It means "snake" in Russian." I answered.

"Yeah, we have known him for a long time, he has a way of making grown men cry. He is ruthless, venomous, scary as shit…" Ivan was rolling out every word he could think, too bad Abe heard all of it.

"Aw, Ivan, I didn't know you felt so strongly for me." Abe's tone took on that of the Mob Boss Ivan was terrified of. "Shall we get together later and have a talk about that?"

"I..I..No..Sorry Sir." Ivan stammered out.

"Come on, Zemy. Don't act all tough on him now, we all know you are a softy toward us." I laughed.

Jeffrey and Caden looked scared as hell, I don't think they ever heard Abe's voice that dark. Plus me calling him out on it, yeah, people don't do that.

"Yeah, you have tarnished my reputation. Anyways, I have something for the four of you, come on."

I nodded toward a frozen Jeffrey and Caden, and we headed inside. There were four massage tables set up, pretty looking women standing next to each one. I raised my brow to Abe.

"This is the last game for you four, so I want you to be relaxed. Also, I wanted to thank you all. The four of you have helped me be a decent Coach for everyone, I appreciate that. So, get undressed, you have an hour full body massage, then shower and head back out to batting practice."

We each grabbed a robe and headed to change, coming back out, I went to the table with the older of the women standing by it. The other three were young and I didn't miss the way they watched me. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction, plus, Rose would be pissed if she found out some pretty young girl was rubbing me with oil.

As I took off my robe, I could hear them swoon as the sight of my chest. I left my slide shorts on, but with the tight fabric, it didn't leave much to the imagination. The blonde one stared directly at my package, I could see the blush creeping up her face. I smirked and laid down on the table.

The masseuse worked on my knotted muscles and I couldn't help the grunt of pleasure. It felt amazing, I haven't had a massage since the honeymoon. There was a lot of pent up tension in my shoulders and back.

"Your girlfriend is very lucky to have such a strong man, your muscles are magnificent." she said.

I turned my head to look at the other three, I could see they wanted me to say I didn't have a girlfriend, they would get their wish.

"I don't have a girlfriend, but I am sure my wife would agree." chuckling at the sound they made, I returned my head to the little hole on the table and enjoyed the feeling of my muscles relaxing.

After the hour, Ivan and Caden crying through half of it, we got showered and dressed for practice.

"Feeling better, Son?" Abe asked as we walked back onto the field.

"Very much so, thanks for that. So, did I tell you Joey called me earlier?"

"No, but I know that they have sent scouts today."

"Yeah, he's with them."

"Just pretend they aren't here."

I nodded and grabbed a bat.

When batting practice was over, we worked on a little fielding. I would be playing first today, since Texas was looking for utility players, Abe decided Caden would pitch and I would move to first, possibly third later if needed. Rose came by and gave me my good luck kiss, before taking her seat in the stands. She found Joey quickly and went to sit with him. Abe called us all into the dugout for the pregame speech.

"Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure coaching you all for the last three years. With Dimitri and Ivan graduating, I will be leaving as well. I have business's back home that are in need of attention and must get back to them. They have already rostered on a new coach for next year, I have given him all the stats and information he needs to keep you all on track. You have the potential for greatness, all of you, keep going and never give up. Now, my seniors, there are several scouts out there today, play at your best. I hope to see all of you in the Majors in the next year or two. Again, I have truly enjoyed getting to be here with you guys and thank you for giving me a chance to experience this with my family." he looked at me and smiled. "Let's play ball."

I don't know that I have ever had that much fun playing a game in my life. It was a battle and we only won by a run, but we had a blast. It was like we were back in little league, playing purely for fun and not just for the win. Knowing it was the last time we would all play together, we wanted to enjoy every minute of it. Ivan and I invited Jeff and Caden to come out with us and the girls tonight, Abe would be joining as well. Before that though, I had to talk to Joey, I needed to know what the scouts thought.

"Comrade! JoJo is coming out with us tonight, he has an extra day off before he has to get back." Rose exclaimed as she ran into my waiting arms.

"Great. I need to talk to him anyways. Did you have a good time?"

"Of course, I missed watching you play. You seemed to be so happy out there today."

"Yeah, I wanted to enjoy my last college game as much as possible. I didn't want to stress out over who was watching me, plus the massage before helped loosen me up and have fun."

"Dad told me about that. So I guess I don't need to work out any tension tonight then?" her voice took on a seductive tone, eyes clouded with desire.

"Oh, there is still plenty there for you to work out, Milaya." my accent came out thicker as I lifted her chin up, claiming her lips in a heated kiss.

It didn't start slow and build, no, it was full of love and want from the start. I had missed her so much over the last four months. Pulling her bottom lip between mine, I nipped at it and ran my tongue over to sooth my bite. Moaning into me, she parted her lips to allow me access. Her mouth was warm and inviting, her soft tongue caressing mine in rhythmic pleasure. My hand found its way to the back of her neck, wrapping around her silk locks, pulling her closer, my other rested at the base of her spine. I could feel myself getting excited, pushing into her stomach.

"Comrade, we may want to stop." she mumbled against my lips, pushing her hips further to me, pressing harder on my growing manhood.

"I don't want to." I whimpered.

"Were still in public," she giggled, "and I doubt the scouts really want to see you sporting an erection while talking to them."

I pecked her lips one last time, taking several deep breaths to calm my aroused state and pulled away from her.

"You're right," I looked around and saw Abe, Joey and two other men talking. "I should probably get over there."

I looked at Ivan and pulled him with me to go and talk with the others.

"Here they are now." Abe turned their attention to me. "Belikov, Zeklos, I would like you to meet Coaches Adams and Johnson."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I was expecting to see Coach Mitchell."

"He told us about you and Mr. Zeklos, we had to come and watch for ourselves. I must say, I am impressed." Adams said.

"You both had some pretty impressive plays today." Johnson chimed in.

"Thank you, we have been working hard this year, it hasn't been an easy one."

"So we have been told, with everything that happened to you, honestly I am surprised you were able to come back and play the way you have. Truly speaks to your determination and skill."

"Thank you." I wonder how much they knew, but I guess that didn't really matter right now.

"When will you be returning home? We would like to sit down with you both and talk before the draft starts."

I looked to Abe. I wasn't sure exactly when we would be back in Texas. We graduated in five days, but would we be going straight home, or did we have other things to take care of first.

"We will be back three days before draft day." Abe said. "I have to sign some paperwork for the buyers of the house next week, then we will pack up and head home."

They both nodded, "Well, here is my card, call me when you get back." Johnson said. "Gallo, you are staying an extra day, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. I will return tomorrow before the Boston game." Joey said.

"Very well, have a good evening everyone."

We all said our farewells and I looked back to Abe.

"I told you you could do it." he said, a smile spreading across his face.

"I have you to thank for that."

"No, that is all you, Son. Now, let's go celebrate, everything is on me."

Oh he will regret that bill, I thought, Joey, Ivan and I can put away a good amount of food and liquor.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

The day had gone beautifully, the night was making it even better. Dad took us all the "The Court Bar", just off campus. The same place Dimitri was when Jesse tried to make me believe he was going out with different women every night, I tried not to think about that though. We were having a good time, the food was delicious and the drinks were mixed to perfection. I was happy to be back here with him. Dimitri, Joey, Jeff and Caden argued about who is a better player. Ivan was wrapped up in Viktoria most of the night, Dad and Pavel were chatting about going back to Arlington. I just watched everyone, loving the peace I felt with these people around me.

Thinking back to all that has happened in my life, I realized I was actually quite blessed. I may have had some hard times, bad things happen, but I really had a good life. I have dated one man and married him. I have a father who has always stood by me, never looked down on any of the things I have done. I had an extended family, the Belikovs, that are the most supportive people in the world. Add in all my friends, that have been there since we were children, I didn't really have it all that bad.

Are there things I wish I could change, of course, but like I have said, it's all part of life. It's a crazy rollercoaster journey, full of ups and downs, twist and turns that make it exciting and terrifying all at the same time. As I continued to think about the past, I knew I was well on my way to making it back to my old self.

Somedays I still had struggles with dealing with what happened those few months ago, I would for a while, but I was doing much better. Spending that time on my own really helped me ground myself, but I was ready to get back to my life, to my husband and family.

As the night moved on, I was eager to get home. I wanted to reconnect with Dimitri. He had been drinking quite a bit, I hoped he wasn't going to be to out of it when we got back. Joey called it a night about thirty minutes ago, catching a cab to his hotel, he had a flight early in the morning. Jeff and Caden went to play pool, Dimitri and Ivan were still doing shots and Vika and I were nursing cocktails. I was finishing mine when I noticed Dimitri watching me.

"What?" I laughed.

He leaned into my ear, "Nothing, I just wish your lips were wrapped around me and not that straw." his accent almost too thick for me to understand. I shuttered a little, not from the flash of heat that rusted to my core at the thought of being with him, but the words he had chosen. They were too close to the things _he_ said. He moved back and looked at my face, expecting to see the hunger returned in my eyes, however, that is not what he got.

"Fuck, Roza, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." he apologized as his own words sunk in, with the amount of alcohol in his system, I really couldn't blame him for not thinking about that.

"It's okay, Dimitri."

"No, I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry." he looked down, displeased with himself.

I lifted his chin so he would look at me, "It's okay, really."

I knew he wasn't trying to bring up memories of _him_ , he was imagining the pleasure I gave him. It was too soon for that though, I don't know if or when I will be ready to give that to Dimitri again. I felt bad in a way, I know how much he enjoys it, but I couldn't let the memory of doing it to _him_ go, not yet.

"How about we go play some pool or darts? Sound good?" I asked, the mood now killed, I wanted to distract him.

"Sure." his head was still downcast as we walked across the bar.

We played a few rounds by ourselves before calling Ivan and Vika to play teams. Turns out, I am actually pretty good at pool, darts, eh not so much. We called it quits when I hit Ivan in the arm with one of my throws. In my defense, he really shouldn't have been standing anywhere near the board.

Dimitri was still looking like he wanted to crawl in a hole, he wasn't talking to anyone or looking up from the floor. This had to stop, I can't handle him beating himself up all the time. I was hoping that he was past it, but I guess his slip up earlier ruined the progress he had made.

"Comrade?", he wouldn't look up, "Dimitri?", still nothing.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, running my fingers through his short hair and gently pulling back to make him look at me.

"What is wrong?" I tried to sound as loving and supportive as possible. I knew he wasn't trying to hurt me earlier, he is drunk, he wasn't thinking before he spoke.

"I'm an asshole." he huffed out.

"No you're not, okay, maybe sometimes, but not right now."

"How are you not mad at me?"

"I know you weren't thinking when you said that, it's okay Comrade, I promise."

"I should have been, I was being selfish."

"How so?"

"Because I miss you, I want you, Roza, but your not ready. I shouldn't have suggested anything, especially _that._ "

But I was ready, yeah, maybe not for that exactly, but I wanted him just as badly as he wanted me. Instead of saying anything, I climbed onto his lap, giving him a tender kiss. I wanted him to know, to feel that I wasn't afraid of him, that I wanted him. I trailed gentle kisses up his jaw, to his ear, biting softly on his lobe.

"yebat' menya tovarishch" I whispered into his ear, proceeding to run the tip of my tongue down his neck.

With nothing better to do at home in my down time, I started teaching myself Russian, seeing how he wasn't going to do it. That was the first phrase I learned, I made sure I knew how to ask for what I wanted in his native tongue.

A deep growl built in his chest, I could feel his chest rising and falling faster. He pulled back to look me in the eyes.

"Where did you learn that?" his voice came loaded with lust.

"Reading." a grin pulling at my lips. "Can we go home, please?"

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

I felt like a total jackass. Sure I was drunk as fuck right now, but I should have known better than to suggest that. She will probably never want to do that to me ever again, which sucks, literally, but I would deal. I never want her to think back to that time when she is with me. I want to make pure undeniable love to her, over and over, again.

When she whispered in my ear to fuck her, I was dumbfounded. First, because she said it in Russian, second, well the idea of fucking her was overwhelmingly arousing. I always wanted to be tender with her, even before the whole Ben incident. To even think about taking her, hard and fast, I wanted to be home, now.

I lifted Roza off my lap, cradling her bridal style and headed to the cab stand outside. Abe would be driving everyone else home when they were ready, which I hoped was still a few hours. At this point though, I could care less if Abe was in the house while I made Roza mine over and over again. It's been too long and I have missed her too much to give a shit about anyone else hearing us.

I heard Ivan wolf whistle as we walked out the door, I didn't spare him a glance.

"Eager are we?" Rose laughed.

"You can't say something like that and not expect a response." I growled.

We climbed into the first cab and rode the five minutes back to the house. I felt bad for the driver, Rose was perched on my lap, my hands running over her backside, while we made out hot and heavy. I am sure he has seen it all, but I was never this open or physical in public. This was something completely new to me, but I was enjoying every second of it. As soon as the car stopped, we were out and headed in the front door.

My duster came off first in the entryway, her shoes followed, then my boots down the hall. A shirt came off here and jeans there, a trail of clothes led to the stairs. By the time we reached our room, she had nothing on, I was sliding off my boxers at the door.

* * *

 _ ******Start M Scene******_

I grabbed Rose's thighs and lifted her up, her legs going around my waist as I pushed her back against the door, my lips devouring hers. I could feel her heat and moisture between her thighs, but I wanted to play, I didn't want to give it to her just yet.

I kissed, sucked and bit down her neck, pushing my leg into her center to hold her against the door. One hand secured on her voluptuous ass, the other working at her perky full breast. My lips drew her left nipple in and I sucked roughly. Her moaning doing nothing but arousing me more, making me suck and grip her harder. She would have marks tomorrow, but they were marks of unadulterated love. I moved over to pay attention to her right breast, switching hands so I could caress her left. After paying each equal attention, I captured her lips in another deep kiss, roaming my hands up and down her body.

These new muscles she had, made me want to worship her, she was so soft, yet hard and toned at the same time. The feeling of her flesh beneath my hands was erotic, I couldn't get over how amazing her body was.

My fingers trailed down her spine, around her hip before resting just above her mound. Arching off the door, she begged for my touch. Ever so lightly, I teased her clit, each flick of my finger caused her to squirm and cry out.

" _Please, Dimitri, PLEASE!"_ she begged.

"Please what, Roza? What do you want?"

"Something, anything!"

I swept over her bud one more time before driving my finger home. Fuck, she got tighter! How is that even possible? Quickly adding another finger in with the first, I needed to stretch her out just a bit. Though, I could imagine how good it would feel for her to be that tight around my thick member, but I didn't want to hurt her, she needed to be ready for me. Finally, I added a third finger and began pumping in and out a hard and fast as I could, listing to the sound of her pleasure. Moving my face in between her globes, licking and kissing each as the bounced from my rigorous movements in her pussy.

I couldn't hold out anymore, I needed to be inside her. She was already dripping so I knew she would be wet enough for it not to hurt her. With my hand coated in her arousal, I ran over my shaft and plunged into her in one swift thrust.

"Shit!" we both screamed at the same time.

I moved my hands to the back of her thighs to support her against the door, her nails digging into my shoulders as I pounded her. I couldn't help but think, I really hope no one is home right now, it sounded like someone was breaking down the door.

"God Roza, I don't know how long I can hold out." I said through gritted teeth.

Before she left, I could make her cum two or three times before I let go. It's been four months though, and she really was a lot tighter than the last time. All the working out has done amazing things to her body.

"Don't stop...I'm almost there." she gasped out, reaching down she started playing with herself. I had to watch, I loved it when she would do that, but at the same time, it only caused me to bust faster.

I continued thrusting at a frantic pace, I was close, the feeling of her slick tight channel was indescribable. I was starting to get weak in this position though, it took a lot of strength to hold her weight and keep moving. Just before I was about to move away from the door for the bed she started to shake.

"Fuck, fuck, DIMI….TRII.." she cried as I felt her walls close in on me. I followed right behind her, sending my seed straight home, her name rolling off my tongue in a deep growl.

I lowered her down the door, falling onto my knees, still buried completely inside her. She leaned forward, resting her head on my shoulder, my head was laid back in ecstasy. Both of us trying to catch our breath, skin slick with a thin layer of sweat and the heady scent of sex in the air.

"That was…"

"Tiring." I finished for her, laughing, "Note to self, not a good position when you have spent the entire day working out."

"True, but fuck that was amazing."

"That it was, Milaya." I rolled us so she was now pinned under me, but not withdrawing from her hot comfort. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I kissed her tenderly. I could feel myself stiffing again.

"Round two?" she smiled up at me.

Slowly I started moving my hips again, growing harder with every pump.

I spent the next three hours bringing her to the brink over and over again, in many different ways.

 _ *****End M Scene*****_

* * *

"Comrade?"

"Roza?" I was half asleep already, we have never gone that many times. After my second orgasm, I would last for two or three of hers.

"I love you." she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For leaving. I know it wasn't easy for you."

I rolled onto my side to look in her eyes, "You have nothing to be sorry for, sure it wasn't easy, but I knew you needed to do it for you. I am just glad that you are feeling better and we are together now." I ran my fingers through her hair.

"I've missed us."

"Me too, Roza, me too." I kissed her hair and rolled back over so she could lay on my chest. "Get some sleep, moya lyubov'."

"Good night, Comrade, I love you."

"I love you too, Roza, Good night."

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

I was in heaven, or better even. We made love and fucked like rabbits, for hours. I don't know how anything in this world could be better than this moment. After months of being apart, months of self doubt and fear of being together with him again, it was bliss.

It was early morning, but the sun wasn't showing yet and I couldn't sleep, I have been trying for the last two hours. I don't know why, but I couldn't shut my mind and body down to fall into the abyss. Dimitri however was knocked out. The strenuous activities, plus that fact he had played today and was drinking a good portion of the night, I don't think a bomb would wake him right now.

I sat up in the bed and watched my man sleep. He looked so peaceful, young and relaxed. With his hair so short, it reminded me of when we were little. He started growing it out when he was twelve, so it has been a long time since it was cut that short. Just like it was when I started to fall in love with him, granted I didn't know that back then, but it reminded me of simpler days. Back when our biggest problem was his Mama or my Dad finding us sneaking chaste kisses in the backyard.

I kind of felt like a creeper just staring at him, but he was just to cute to stop. The sun started to creep up and I could see the faint orange glow, I decided to get up and shower, my body was sticky from the sweat and our own fluids.

I stood under the scolding spray, replaying every move, touch and feeling of last night. The soreness of my core was a painful, yet beautiful, reminder of our passion. I knew it wouldn't last long, but I could definitely feel it right now. Looking over my body, there were love bites that we scattered across my breast, a small bruise forming on my left hip from his hands. I wasn't mad or anything, I felt complete, knowing that these weren't marks of aggression, but pleasure.

I finished washing and got dressed to head down stairs.

"Good morning, Rose." Suzanne said as I walked in the kitchen.

"Morning, how have you been?"

"Well, thank you, would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please, thank you."

Suzanne moved about the kitchen and I remembered the fact that mine and Dimitri's clothes were strewn across the house last night. I looked toward the front door and didn't see his duster.

"Suzanne, did you happen to see Dimitri's duster this morning?"

She giggled, "I picked up the articles and put them in the washing about an hour ago, his duster is hanging in the mud room."

I felt the blush creep up my neck and into my cheeks. I really hope Baba doesn't have something to say about that.

"Good Morning, Kizim, have fun last night?" speak of the devil.

"Very much so, what time did you guys get home?" more or less, how much did he hear, I thought to myself.

"Around one a.m." he laughed.

I tried to think of what we were doing exactly at that time and after, oh god. The blush got deeper on my face and Baba laughed again.

"Don't be embarrassed, Kiz. I am glad you two have reconnected."

I get it now, why Dimitri never wanted to do it with him in the house. Thinking about the words and sounds that were coming from our room, the clothes that were trailing from the front door. I quickly changed the subject, before I could think anymore on it.

"So, what's the plan now? I know your selling the house, when is that happening?"

"I am meeting with the buyers in a few days, then paperwork will be settled just before the boys graduate."

"What is Viktoria going to do? She is staying to finish school, right?"

"We will look for an apartment near campus, that way when Ivan is home he can stay with her."

"Do you think they will both get picked by Texas?" I tried to hide the fear in my voice, but I am sure he picked up on it.

"I am not sure, don't stress about it though, no matter where they both end up, we will all still be together at some points."

"I just don't want to move again. I mean, I will, but I don't want to." I thought long and hard when I was seeing Deidre, I would follow Dimitri anywhere, but I didn't really want to leave home again.

"Then stay, you don't have to follow him, plenty of team wifes stay in their hometowns. He can stay in team housing wherever he ends up and come home during off season."

"It's just a lot of time apart. After being gone these last few months, I don't want to be away from him for that long again. I miss my husband, Baba."

"I know the feeling, Kiz, I know." he said softly.

In everything that has happened, I never thought about how much he must miss Mom. I felt the void of simply being away from Dimitri, but he was still here, still alive. I could imagine how he must feel with Mom gone forever. I leaned over and wrapped my arms around him.

"I miss her, too."

When I pulled back, I saw a lone tear escape his eye, wiping it away I kissed his cheek.

Suzanne placed breakfast in front of both of us, I noticed the look she gave dad. She understood his loss, her husband passed a few years ago. There was something else there too, though, and if I didn't know any better I would say it looked a lot like love.

* * *

Author's Note:

* * *

Only 3 more chapters! Next will be up in a couple days!


	40. Part 3:Chapter 12: Bless the Broken Road

**_The end is near and it is bittersweet, I have enjoyed this so much. Thank you for the kind reviews and letting me know how much you have all enjoyed this. I am so happy to see everyone is loving it. As always, R &R can we hit 200 by the end, only one more chapter and the epilogue left! _**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or its Characters.**_

* * *

 _ **Part 3: Chapter 12: Bless the Broken Road**_

 _ **DPOV**_

When I woke up that morning, I was surprised that Rose was not in bed. She always slept later than me, after last night I figured she would be asleep for a while. I showered and dressed before making my way downstairs. Our clothes were no longer all over the place, either Rose cleaned up or Suzanne found them. I chuckled at the memories of stripping through the house.

When I neared the kitchen I could hear Rose and Abe talking. I didn't want to interrupt them, they haven't had a chance to sit down together yet. I waited in the living area, listening in.

"Do you think they will both get picked by Texas?" she asked.

"I am not sure, don't stress about it though, no matter where they both end up, we will all still be together at some points."

"I just don't want to move again. I mean, I will, but I don't want to."

She didn't have too, I wouldn't make her follow me. I knew staying in Arlington would probably be best for her anyway. I guess we need to talk about that soon.

"Then stay, you don't have to follow him, plenty of team wives stay in their hometowns. He can stay in team housing wherever he ends up and comes home during offseason."

"It's just a lot of time apart. After being gone these last few months, I don't want to be away from him for that long again. I miss my husband, Baba." she said sadly.

Oh, Roza. I have missed her too, but I didn't want to compromise the progress she was making for my own selfish gain. I needed her like air, not even just for the sexual aspect, but just her presence. She was everything to me and more, but I would sacrifice anything if it meant she would be healthy, mentally and physically.

I couldn't make out Abe's next words, his voice was too low. I waited a few more minutes before making my way into the kitchen.

"Morning Roza." I leaned down to kiss her head, "Abe, Suzanne, how is everyone?"

"Well, thank you, breakfast?" Suzanne asked as she started placing eggs and peppers on a plate.

"Yes, thank you."

"I am surprised you are awake already, Dimitri." Abe chuckled, "You were up quite late." I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of embarrassing me.

"Yeah, someone needed a lot of attention." I smiled and winked at Rose.

"Don't act like I was the only one, you had your fair share of it too." She laughed.

"That I did, Milaya. What are the plans for today?"

"I have to go meet with the new coach and help him settle in," Abe said.

"I figured you and I could start getting boxes and stuff together to begin packing. We have a lot here that will need to be shipped home."

"Okay, Ivan said something about going to look at apartments for Vika. I told him to call me if she found one she liked. I need to make sure it would be safe for her."

Rose nodded, we finished our breakfast and headed out to get started on our task for the day.

"So how are you feeling about the draft?" Rose asked as we were packing the library.

"Good. The Texas scouts sounded impressed, they want us to call and meet with them when we get home."

"That's great! I really hope you can both get on with them."

I nodded, we needed to talk about the living situation, but I was scared to broach that topic. I knew she would say she will follow me but is that what is best for her? Would she be able to handle being away from everyone? Would we be able to deal with the added stress without anyone to support her?

She was improving and I didn't want her to go backward. The nightmares had stopped completely, she wasn't afraid of intimate contact, well most anyways. She may have been living by herself for the last few months, but from what she and Mama told me, a lot of time spent at my house with the family. Moving would take that away, she would truly be alone when I had to travel. That worried me, not that I thought she was weak and needed someone by her 24/7, but I didn't think she would be happy. That's all I ever want for her, to be happy and secure.

"What is it, Dimitri?"

"Huh?" I was lost in my rambling thoughts.

"I can smell your brain frying from over here. What are you thinking about?"

"If I don't get picked by Texas, what would we do, living wise, would you stay or come with me?" I didn't want her to know I eavesdropped on her conversation earlier.

"I would go with you, duh."

"Are you sure? I mean we could wind up anywhere in the country, will you be okay without Abe or my family nearby?"

She looked like I offended her, "I am a big girl, Dimitri, I will manage."

"I wasn't trying to say you couldn't handle it, just that...I want you to be happy and comfortable. Moving away and me traveling, well you would be alone a lot."

"I know, but that is the life _I_ chose. I will continue with my workout routines, reading and writing, I will be just fine."

She was playing for my benefit, I already knew she didn't want to move again. How can I get her to admit it without letting her know I already know.

"Look, how about we wait to see where you will go before we start stressing over moving," she said.

"Good idea. Can you get me another box, please?"

"You really should get rid of some of those." she laughed pointing to my third box of westerns.

"Never," I said seriously. I knew she was joking, but you can not take away my books.

With the library finished, we moved to the living room and packed all of our photos and movies. We really had accumulated a lot of stuff in the last two years living here. It took us twice as long to get through the living area because Rose kept stopping to look at each picture and comment about how she was feeling when it was taken. I didn't really mind though, some were from when we were little, but others, like our wedding, I loved her telling me about her thoughts and emotions she had during that time.

We had the living room, library, and den packed and stored away in the garage by dinner time. We still had a little over a week before we would be leaving, but I knew our room would take a few days in itself to get together. Then add on graduation in a few days, finalizing the sale on this house, finding a place for Vika when she comes back after summer, yeah, it's going to be a busy week.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

"Ready, Comrade?" I looked at him putting on his cap and gown.

"Ready for it to be over." he laughed. "The next three hours will be the longest of my life."

"Aw come on, be excited, this only happens once in life."

"I know, but still, couldn't they have just said, "Congratulations", mail the degree and let us go on?"

"Apparently not, now smile!" He gave me his half smile, the one that barely moves his lips upwards, that sexy one I love so much.

As right as he was about it being the longest three hours of our lives, I couldn't have been happier. Watching him cross that stage, my heart soared with pride. He fought tooth and nail to pass all of his classes while playing baseball. Four years of late nights, many pots of coffee and meals missed, he was finally done with college and had a degree to show for it.

We were having a party at our house tonight for Dimitri and Ivan, both of their families were able to fly up and see them graduate. It was also kind of a farewell party, we would be moving back home in two days. The paperwork had been finalized, the whole house was packed, minus our beds and the living room furniture, movers would be here tomorrow to load the trailer and we would be headed home the next day.

I was ready to get back home, this house held such horrible memories. Granted, it is a beautiful home, but I wanted to get back to our simple lives in Arlington. Just a week back here and I was already feeling like the walls were closing in, memories smothering me. Dimitri had been amazing at keeping me occupied so I wouldn't think too much about that. Between the little dates, walks in the park and bedroom antics, time was passing quickly.

I walked around and spoke to everyone at some point through the night, but I couldn't help but notice Suzanne. She looked heartbroken, I could only imagine why.

"Baba? What is Suzanne going to do when we go back home?"

"I don't know, Kiz. She had the notice to line up another job, but she hasn't said anything to me if she found one or not." He was gazing at her now, I could see the admiration in his eyes.

"Did you offer for her to come with us?"

"Why would I? The house in Arlington is nowhere near the size here. We wouldn't need the extra help."

Men. He is either blind to the fact that she is into him, or he is trying to deny that he is into her, or both.

"I didn't mean as an employee, Baba." I gave him a pointed look.

"What….oh...No, I don't feel that way for her, besides I am sure she has someone here." Yea, both.

"No, you know her husband passed years ago, she has no children, no family, no reason to stay. Why don't you go ask her to come with us."

"What if she says no?" I gasped at my father, was he really worried about being rejected? Man, the guys really have done a number on him.

"She won't, I will bet you on that. Go." I pushed him in her general direction.

I giggled to myself as I watched him slowly approached her, he looked like he was a teenager trying to get his first girlfriend. I was really loving this different side of him, everyone always said he was too rough around the edges. Deep down though, he had a heart of gold and loved with every bit of it.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind as I watched Dad talk to Suzanne, with a smile on my face.

"Playing matchmaker are we?" Dimitri asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I just gave him a little push in the right direction. He needs to find happiness again, he can have that with her."

"Ivan and I have an ongoing bet, how long will it take for him to grow a set and ask her to come home with us. If he does it before we leave, I win."

"What did you bet?"

"His Xbox One or my PS4."

"You better hope you win, I paid for that PS4." I laughed.

We both sat watching Baba and Suzanne talking in the kitchen, her smile never faltering. The way they looked at each other, it was like watching Dimitri and I. Love radiated from both of them, it was in their eyes, the body language, shining as brightly as the sun. Those two were head over heels for each other, if only they would open their eyes.

* * *

 _ **APOV**_

Everything was ready for our departure, we would leave at first light on Friday. I finalized the papers the day before yesterday and the truck was coming tomorrow. All we had to do now was drive home. I couldn't help but feel I was leaving something behind though. I thought it was the memory of Janine and her passing here. I missed her, her death still haunts me to this day. I should have seen the signs, noticed something wasn't right, but her and Rose were always fighting and I thought giving them time for just them would help. I was sadly mistaken because she ran and no one knew she would only live another few months.

I walked around the house numerous times, making sure everything we needed or wanted to take was securely packed away.

"Abe, what has you up so late?" Suzie asked.

"Just some last minute checking. With graduation tonight and moving in the next few days, I want to make sure everything is in order."

"It will be a hectic few days won't it." she said sadly, "Well, I must turn in, I have to prep for the party in the morning. Have a good evening and try to get some rest."

"Good night, Suzie." I smiled at her. She hated being called that but never said anything when I did it.

I felt a pang in my chest as she walked away, something I haven't felt in a long time. I wasn't exactly sure if it was the thought of losing another person we have become close to or losing _her_ that made me feel this way. She has such a kind-hearted soul, always smiling and happy.

We hired her when the girls arrived here, there were just so many people and we were all busy, we need the extra help. She was here when Janine showed up and dropped the news on us. Helping all of us with her, she knew what it was like to watch your loved one slowly fade away. When Janine finally passed, she was there to comfort everyone. She played a surrogate mother to Rose in times of need. Would talk to her about all the things she wasn't comfortable talking to me about. Helped the guys with their studies, she was a genius in math. Helped me heal the gaping hole that was left in my chest.

She was our personal angel, sent from heaven above to help us heal. She didn't sign up for any of it, but she was always there when we needed her. When I needed her. I truly cherished getting to meet her and have her in my life, even if it was only temporary. I know she didn't always have it easy, going from job to job when her husband got sick. She worked tirelessly to pay his medical bills. When she came here, she said I was a godsend. In truth though, she was ours.

Not to mention, she is incredibly beautiful. A few years younger than me at thirty-four and standing about five foot seven, her brown hair rested below her shoulders with streaks of blonde running through it. When she stood in the sun, the light would dance off her, making her appear as the angel she is. Her body was slim, but her curves were full, hips that would bare children perfectly, even though I know she has none, her breast a decent size, I could easily palm my hand around it. Not that I have, but a man can imagine, right? Her eyes, a soft hazel with streaks of gold. I have never met anyone with eyes that color, they captivated me with every glance she gave. Rounding out her amazing body were her lips, those pink full luscious lips. I have to admit, I wanted to kiss her, very badly, but I couldn't bring myself to say or do anything.

I walked the house once more before retiring to my own quarters. Passing by her room, I paused. I wasn't sure, but I thought I could hear crying. Why would she be crying? She seemed fine a few minutes ago, sure her voice was a little sad, but she was still smiling. I lifted my hand to knock, but the noise had stopped. I didn't want to disturb her if she had fallen asleep, so I continued to my room.

The next morning was hectic indeed, preparations for the party this evening, getting the guys dressed for graduation, and last minute arrangements for the movers. I was exhausted by the time the party started.

When Rose asked me about what Suzie was doing with us leaving, I couldn't help but think about her coming with us. I knew she wasn't seeing anyone, but tried to play as if I wasn't sure. She had no children and no family, I didn't need Rose to remind me of that. But how could I ask her to leave everything she knows to move to Texas with me. Would she think it was purely a job offer, or would she see that I care for her?

I care for her. That realization hit me as Rose told me to go ask her to come with us. I was scared she would say no, that she wouldn't see me the way I see her. Rose pushed my back making me head in the direction Suzie was, standing in the kitchen dishing out food for everyone.

"It smells amazing in here. What did you make?" I needed to warm up, I had to get this right.

"Seared beef tips with a dark gravy, potatoes, steamed vegetables, and salad. Are you hungry, I can make you a plate now."

"No, no, that's okay, I can wait. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, thank you though." she went back to putting the food in different dishes. There was a ghost of a smile pulling at her lips, a slight pink on her cheeks.

"So….I...uh.." I cleared my throat, I so wasn't getting this right, _come on Abe you can do this_ , "So I was wondering, you...you wouldn't…" _damn it spit it out!,_ "You wouldn't want to come back to Texas with us, would you?"

Her eyes snapped to mine, I swear she was staring into my soul. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move, I was memorized by her eyes gazing into mine.

"Would the job be the same? I know that home is a lot smaller, would I need to find housing?"

I let the breath go, I knew she would think I was offering to keep her employed, I should have been more clear. I moved to stand directly in front of her, looking down

"No, Suzie. I want you to come and….. and be with me….if...if that's something you would like, I mean." I stammered out at the end.

I tried to sound confident, but I am pretty sure I sounded like a boy asking his crush out to the holiday dance. I watched her, trying to find any hint of an answer on her face. She continued to look at me, eyes not moving from mine. Until her eyes glistened with unshed tears and she began nodding slowly.

"Really?" my heart started beating furiously, please don't break it.

"Yes." her voice only a whisper, but she continued to nod, a little faster now. A single tear fell from her eyes, I cupped her face in my hands, wiping the tear away with my thumb. Slowly lowered my head down, giving her time to pull back should she choose. Tilting her head back, she rose on her toes, meeting me in the middle.

As my lips touched hers, a fire exploded through me, the world stopped moving, it was just me and her. It has been so long since I felt love and want this way, I honestly never thought I would feel it again after Janine.

I heard a whistle and Dimitri yell, "BOUT DAMN TIME DAD!"

I laughed against her lips, pulling back just slightly to look at her beautiful face.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that."

"Oh, I might have some idea." she laughed.

I just shook my head and brought her mouth back to mine.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

Ivan and I were due to meet with Coaches Adams and Johnson today. Abe called them yesterday after we got home, wasting no time in setting up a meeting. I was nervous as hell while getting ready. Abe bought both Ivan and I new suits, like nice suits, to wear today. My hands kept shaking and I couldn't get the damn tie to go straight.

"Would you like some help?" Abe asked.

"Please, I can't get it to sit straight."

"You don't need to be nervous, you already know they want you, so relax."

I was about to start the what if questions when Abe gave me a "don't even" look, so I nodded instead. Abe would be driving with us to the office to meet with them, but he wouldn't be going in. I don't know if I should feel good about that, or worry more.

"There you go." he patted my chest. My tie now sitting perfectly around my neck.

I ran a comb through my hair, I had it trimmed again, keeping it short for now. Abe said it made me look more professional anyways, besides, I was kind of liking it, Rose too. We loaded into the Suburban and headed toward Globe Life.

We arrived roughly twenty minutes early, so Ivan and I took seats in the lobby. Both of us had one leg bouncing the entire time.

"If they will only take one of us, you take it," Ivan said.

"I couldn't do that to you, who knows where you would wind up."

"Same goes for you, you need to be here. Rose needs you here, take it. Vika is still going to be in school anyway, so it won't matter too much where I go."

"Thank you."

A middle-aged man walked out of the back door and came toward us.

"Good afternoon, gentleman. I am Jeff Banister, Team manager, would you follow me."

Following Coach Banister, we went down several long hallways, a few turns later we arrived at the door marked "Recruiting".

"Belikov, Zeklos, good to see you again, please have a seat." Adams addressed us.

Sitting down at the end of the long table, across from Coaches, I was getting nervous again.

"So, today we just wanted to talk about how the draft works and what you both are thinking career-wise. Let me first say, we want both of you, but of course, we can only pick one at a time. This year we are the ninth pick, but there are twenty-nine other teams that will get choices too. How many teams have you spoken to?"

I counted through in my head, I had talked to just about all of them, but only six or seven showed any real interest. Ivan had more contact with serious inquiries than I did.

"Seven," I answered.

"Ten," Ivan said.

"Okay," Johnson started, "Here is what we have to offer both of you. It will be the same contract, time and pay wise, the only difference is your playing position.", he slid two very large stacks of paper towards us. "You don't have to read all of it now, we wanted you to have a heads up for what we are willing to do for you. With the draft, in four days, expect to get phone calls from those other teams with salary offers as well."

"We don't get a choice in it though, right? Anyone can pick us for any amount of salary, correct?"

"Yes, but they want you to know what they are willing to offer, just like we are with giving you a copy of the prospective contract. If you have had anyone that is above us in the draft this year that has shown vast interest, we would like to know, we may try to negotiate a deal to get you on our line up."

I looked at the board to our left, showing the draft order. Houston was first since they won the series last year, then the Dodgers, Boston, and New York were up there too. I hadn't talked to any of them, except for Houston, but they didn't seem too interested in me to worry about it.

"We are willing to offer a 2.7 million dollar, five-year deal. That essentially means you are to play for us alone for the next five years. Should you be injured or have to quit for any reason, you lawyer and agent would discuss a settlement. You will be paid 545,000 each year, before taxes."

Did I stop breathing for a whole minute, over half a million dollars a year to play baseball? I knew the salary was up there, but seeing it in black and white and having it explained to me, I couldn't breathe. I would never want for anything ever again, Rose would have everything in the world. Mama could stop stressing over bills and everyday expenses. We could live in luxury for the rest of our lives.

"I know that it sounds like a lot, but you will earn it. Practices are fifty times worse than what you are used to, games are more intense and your salary depends on your stats. If your stats decrease, so does your pay. All of that is explained at length in the contract."

For the first time since we walked in, Banister spoke, "I understand you both want to stay in the state, correct?" we nodded, "Gallo has spoken very highly of both of you. He filled me in on some of the things that were going on during your last season. Not too much, but enough to explain why you stopped playing for two weeks." He looked directly at me, "With the way you came back and still managed to have the stats you do, I was impressed. I won't lie, Belikov, you will be the first pick if you are still available when our turn comes. Zeklos, I know Houston has their eye on you, you very well maybe first round, first pick this year."

Ivan beamed, I don't know that I have ever seen his smile that wide. I knew he didn't care where he was, but he would prefer to stay in Texas and being first round first pick, well that was an honor.

"Take those home with you, look them over with your father, I heard he is pretty handy with this kind of stuff, get back with us if you have any questions. Otherwise, we will see you both on draft day." Adams dismissed us.

Shaking all three of the men's hands, Ivan and I headed back out to Abe.

"D! Do you know how awesome it will be to be the first pick!" Ivan yelled as we climbed into the SUV.

"Yeah, if you go to Houston and I stay here, we could make everything work. Houston is only a few hours away, so we could even live in the middle somewhere if we wanted."

"We don't have to worry about that for a few years, Dimitri. I'm sure Ivan will be spending his offseason in Tennessee, right?"

"Of course, I am not leaving her by herself for the whole year."

"What did they say to you?" Abe looked at me.

"Banister, the manager, said I was their first pick. As long as no one else wants me, which out of all the teams above them in the draft, Houston was the only one I talked to. With Ivan being their pick, I should be golden for Texas."

"Good, we will take a look at those when we get home. Pavel and I are keen on finding the little loopholes that they have."

"I'm sure you are." I laughed, "Just make sure they aren't going to screw me over in the end and I will be happy."

We got home and walked in to find all the women in the kitchen. Each of us going to our girls, giving them a kiss and filling them in on what happened. I had to smile at Abe and Suzanne, I am glad he is finally letting himself be happy. After Janine, I worried he would never find love again, he was always so shut off to people, but not her.

I called Mama and invited the family over for dinner, that way I wouldn't have to keep repeating the news over and over. Ivan and I set to start unpacking some of the boxes, the girls helped with dinner and Abe and Pavel went to look over the contracts.

I was in a trance as I moved around the house, I am going to the Majors, in a few short days, I will be drafted and be a professional baseball player. I was over the moon, nothing could make me feel any better than I do at this moment. I have worked my entire life to get here and I did it.

I made my dreams a reality.

* * *

Author's Note:

I had to give Abe a happy ending too, don't you think he deserved it? I am literally crying at the thought of only one more actual chapter then the epilogue. My boys have been asking me what I am going to do when I am done with this, so I have started drafting the sequel, I make no promises at this time, but I have hopes for one, and soon. Again, thank you for all the support, you guys are the greatest.

Much Love,

Katarina


	41. Part 3: Chapter 13: There Goes My Life

_**Part 3: Chapter 13: There Goes My Life**_

 _ **DPOV**_

Today I would play my first game as a Ranger. After the draft on Monday and spending the week in Secaucus, I had met with the team at home and then we headed out for seven days of road games. I haven't played yet, I didn't expect too for a while, but when we arrived back home in Arlington, Coach Banister advised me I would be playing first base today. Mike got hurt last night and rotation wasn't allowing Joey to move over from third, so I was in.

I called Rose as soon as I was notified and she would be here with everyone tonight. To say I was nervous was an understatement. Only three years ago, Rose and I came to Globe Life for the first time, I remember seeing the field and imagining being there someday. That day, was today.

Walking into the locker room I took my time to look around, it had to be the largest space I have ever seen. When you walk in the front door, the coaches locker room was to the right, as well as their offices. To the left was the dining hall, set up like a small town diner with a kitchen window and self-serve drink machines. Continuing straight was the team locker room. I paused at the door, taking in the entire room before fully entering. All four walls were lined with players jerseys, matching to their assigned cubical. There was no particular order, number or name wise, so I started next to the door and walked until I found my name.

About halfway down, I saw it, my jersey. I ran my hand down the soft polyester material, resting on the stitched letters of my name. We would be wearing blue today, the white pants hung inside and a hat on the hook just above the jersey. I stood just staring at it all, my heart pounded in my chest like it was trying to get out. Since I wasn't rostered on the line up before, I didn't get a Jersey to wear, I only had the team T-Shirt and pants. Plus, we were traveling and the locker rooms we had at the other fields didn't have this kind of set up. I was completely blown away by everything here.

"Surreal, isn't it?" I jumped at the intrusion to see Joey standing next to me.

"Yeah, you can say that."

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous, like I will throw up any moment. Is that normal?"

He laughed, "Yeah, I remember my first step out there, the lights, the crowd, it can be a bit overwhelming. Just focus on us though, don't let them get to you."

I nodded, "Thanks, so, where do we go from here?"

"For now, sit in here, relax, and try to clear your head. Everyone else should be here soon. If you are hungry you can get pre-game meals at the Diner, don't eat too much though."

"I don't think I can eat anything right now."

"That will pass," he chuckled, "My locker is right over there, if you need anything, let me know."

I nodded as he walked to his own locker, returning to look at mine, I was still awestruck. Everything I would need was perfectly laid out, I felt like royalty to a point. I texted a picture of it to Rose, she sent several happy faces in response. I smiled and knew today was going to be a great day, win or lose, I would never forget this moment.

People started filing into the locker room, one here, three or so there, before I knew it the whole room was full of people. Some talking and laughing, others had headphones in and were sitting in their locker to themselves. I was people watching and texting Rose. The coaches came in and went over the lineup, then it was time to get ready.

We changed and headed out to the field for warm-ups and batting practice. The game wouldn't start for another three hours, but there were already people walking around the stadium. It wasn't getting to me just yet, but I knew when the game started, the whole stadium would be full, that is what worried me most. When we played in the College Series, it was a huge stadium much like this, I was able to cancel out the background then, I could only hope I would be able to here.

On the field, there was a huge rollaway batting cage set up at home plate, several players and coaches in the outfield doing drills, I was memorized by everything. I stood amongst several of my teammates near the batting area, everyone was laughing and playing around. It surprised me to see everyone so loose and having fun, I would think that we would be more serious, driven, but it really was just a big party.

"D!" Beltre called out to me. He is our primary third baseman but is taking a few days off due to a pulled muscle, hence my starting first base. Joey would be taking his place at third, with Mike out, I was next in the lineup.

I walked over to meet with him, Andrus and Odor outside the batting area.

"What's up?"

"We forgot to tell you, before your first game, you have to do the team dance," Andrus said.

"What's the team dance?" I had never heard of this and I was sure they were messing with me, but I would play along.

I watched Odor demonstrate the stupidest dance moves with a bat in his hand. Do they really expect me to do that? He handed the bat to me when he was finished, alright, I guess I will have a little fun.

Twirling the wood around my body and head, I jumped around in the same motions Odor had done. I felt like an idiot and they were laughing their asses off at me, but I felt good to let loose a little. I couldn't control my own laughter as I finished the routine.

"You're a good sport man, but never do that again, you looked stroking bird," Beltre said.

"These guys picking on you, D?" Gallo asked hearing all the laughter.

"No, we're just having some fun."

"Good, now get in the cage and let's show them what you got."

Taking the bat I just danced with, I belted out a few good hits, most were little ground balls that wouldn't go for a base hit, but I did get a few to get past the infield.

Practice wound down and we headed back to the locker rooms to get in our uniforms. As I put each piece on, the nerves increased, it was time to make my Major League Debut.

Halfway through the game, we were losing by four runs, not a big deal, but enough to kill my spirit. I hadn't hit yet, but I only struck out once in the three plate appearances I've had. We were currently batting, the bottom of the sixth, and I was sitting in the dugout trying to keep my focus. I saw Rose and our family in the stands when I first took to the field, but have tried to avoid looking at them since. I didn't want to be distracted at any point.

"How are you holding up, kid?",Odor asked.

"Okay, I think. It's definitely different playing here than in college though."

"Yup, you will get used to it, you're not doing badly."

"Thanks."

The last out came just then so we took back to the field to attempt to keep them from scoring any more runs. By the end of the game, we lost by two, I still didn't get on base but I did get two good outs that could have gone for base hits. After the game, I showered and went to meet with everyone outside the locker room gates.

"COMRADE!" Roza yelled as she charged down the walkway. I lifted her up effortlessly and spun around. "I am so proud of you!"

"Thank you, Milaya. Did you guys have a good time?"

Everyone spoke at the same time, I couldn't keep up with them. I felt something latch onto my leg, looking down to see Paul clinging to me. I set Roza down and picked him up.

"Hey Pauly, did you have fun?"

"YES! It was so cool to watch you play on the big field. I liked watching the horse too, he was funny. Oh, and Auntie Roza bought me ice cream and … "

I laughed as Paul continued to ramble on about everything. Mama just smiled at me, a few tears falling from her eyes. I set Paul down after he finally stopped talking and went to hug my mother.

We had a short conversation in Russian, she told me how proud she was and how she always knew I would make it. My sisters also shared their praises and even Abe gave me a manly hug. I was happy to be home, with my family, with Rose. I knew in a few days I would have to leave again, so I wanted to cherish every minute I could with them.

Since we only lived twenty minutes from the stadium, I get to stay with Rose when we had home games. It has been a few weeks since we were last "together" and I wanted nothing more than to go home and ravish my wife. However, she was not in the mood. She wanted to watch some romance movie, which I didn't care for, then again, I wasn't going to be watching it anyways. Or at least I thought I wouldn't be, but every time I touched her, she pushed me away.

"Roza, what's wrong?" I couldn't figure out why she was pushing me away, did she have a nightmare recently? Was she still having issues with what happened? After we reconnected in Tennessee, I thought she was over that.

"Nothing, I just want to watch the movie." her tone held no emotion, what the hell is going on?

I stopped my advancements and laid back on the bed, falling asleep a little over halfway through the stupid movie.

I woke up twice during the night to Rose, not in bed. I thought maybe she needed to use the restroom, but the light was off. I was about to get out of bed and look for her when our door opened and she slipped back in. What is she doing? I laid there, pretending to still be asleep as she crawled back into bed. I could smell something minty coming from her, toothpaste or mouthwash maybe. Okay, now I really want to know what she is doing in the middle of the night, that she needed to brush her teeth before coming back.

I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind wouldn't shut off. Rose had been acting weird tonight. Normally, she would be all for making love after we have been apart for more than a day, but she didn't want me to even touch her. She was keeping to her side of the bed, which she has never done, and didn't even kiss me good night. After the game, she wouldn't let go of me, what happened? Why did she change so quickly?

I needed sleep though, I had another game tonight and I needed to be rested. I laid back down and tried to shut my mind down. Rose rolled over and molded to my side, draping her arm over my stomach, head on my chest, letting out a contented sigh.

I give up, I am not going to try and understand her right now.

The next morning, Rose was happy and smiling. I didn't think too much about it, I was done trying to figure out her mood swings. Maybe she was on medication or something that was causing it, but I didn't want to ask and risk her flipping out. So I asked Abe.

"Not that I know of, why what happened?"

"She was attached to my hip when we left the game, then when we got home she wouldn't even let me touch her. In the middle of the night she rolled over to cuddle, then this morning she is smiling like a Cheshire cat. I can't keep up."

"I don't know what to tell you, Son, just roll with it. If something is bugging her, she will tell you."

"I know she would, but I am just confused."

"Welcome to married life," he laughed.

"How are things going with you and Suzanne?"

"Just fine," he gave a cheeky grin.

"I will leave it at that, I have to get to the field. Will you all be there?"

"Rose will, I have meetings."

"Alright, I will see you later then."

I left Abe's office in search of Rose, she was in the library reading some Nicholas Sparks book, crying.

"Roza? You okay?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah, just a sad book," she wiped her eyes, "You leaving for the game?"

"Yes, I have to be there by the top of the hour."

"Okay, I will see you tonight. You're playing right?"

"Yup, first again, Mike will be out for a few more days." I leaned down to give her a kiss, I was surprised that she actually kissed me back.

"Good luck, Comrade, I love you."

"I love you, too, Roza."

I headed out to work.

* * *

 _ **RPOV**_

"How am I supposed to tell him, Liss?"

" _I don't know, but you will figure it out, you're a smart girl."_

"Apparently not," I huffed, "I wish you were here, I need my best friend," I sniffled and tried to take a deep breath.

" _You know I am always here for you, just a phone call away. Christian and I will be home sometime in August. If you can hold out that long, I will help you find a way to tell Dimitri."_

"That's a month away! How can I do that?"

" _I know, but he is traveling a lot right, shouldn't be too hard to keep it secret till then."_

"Yeah, but he still comes home when they are here. He is bound to notice something is wrong."

" _Nothing is_ wrong _Rose, just different."_

That's one way to look at it, I didn't want to think of it as wrong, but how could I not? We weren't ready for this, rather I wasn't ready.

"I don't know, Liss, I will have to tell him before then, I can't keep it from him."

" _Do what you feel is best."_

A knock came at the door, "I got to go, someone is here. Love you, Liss."

"Love you, too, Rose."

Hanging up, I went to answer the door, I wasn't expecting anyone, but the person I found on the other side, I was excited to see.

"MASE!" I launched into the arms of one of my oldest friends, "I haven't seen you in forever! You look good, the uniform suits you."

"Thanks, Rosie. I was just patrolling and realized I was in your area, figured I would see if you were home."

"Can you come in, I mean are you allowed to?" I laughed, "I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

"It's okay, as long as my radio works it's fine."

"Would you like a coffee or tea?" I asked as we walked through the house.

"Coffee would be great, thanks. So, how is the married life treating you?" he wiggled his eyebrows and I slapped his arm.

"Just fine." I laughed.

"He went Pro right?"

"Yup, signed with Texas a few weeks back, already had his debut."

"Wow, that was fast.", he paused as I nodded, "How have you been? I know you were going through some stuff."

I froze up for a second, I didn't like thinking about it anymore. I had made excellent progress in forgetting, or rather pretending it never happened.

Mason noticed my silence, "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's okay. I am doing well now, I just try to keep busy and forget about everything."

"That's good, I am proud of you, Rosie."

"Thanks, so what's it like, being a cop?"

He launched into a story after story of things he has done so far. For only being on the force for a few months, he sure had a lot of them. Some of them left me scared, the job was dangerous, I couldn't imagine something happening to him. In the middle of one tale, he stopped talking and his face took on a serious look. I assumed he was listing to something on his radio.

"I have to go, thanks for the coffee," he gripped me in a tight hug, "I love you, Rosie, take care okay."

"I will, Love you too, be safe."

"Always am," he ran out the door.

As the door shut behind him, I sent out a silent prayer. I hoped he would be safe, that he would return home after every shift. I am starting to understand why Mia left, the fear of losing the one you love everytime they leave the house. I don't know how I would handle if Dimitri was in that line of work.

I sat in the kitchen, staring at nothing for about an hour till Suzanne came home. We chatted aimlessly as she prepared dinner. She was making some type of meatloaf, I watched as she dug her hands into the bowl of ingredients. The smell of raw meat and the look of it made me nauseous, I bolted to the bathroom barely making it in time.

I felt hands run through my hair, pulling it back out of my face. He waited till I was done emptying the contents of my stomach before speaking.

"Are you okay, Kizim?", rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"Yeah, I ate some leftover chicken for lunch, must have been bad."

Suzanne brought me a glass of water and I drank it greedily. Her and Dad exchanging looks, then focusing back on me.

"Kiz?"

"I am fine, Baba, promise."

"If you say so, come one, I'll make you some tea," extending his hand, he helped me off the floor.

After my tea and a couple pieces of toast, I was feeling better, but the looming knowledge that I was keeping a secret from everyone was wearing on me. I excused myself to my room, needing to be alone in my own head for a while.

I thought about everything. How I would tell Dimitri, how this happened, how stupid I was to forget something so important. Everything. I had a week to prepare, right now he was in New York, then they would be in Florida for a few days, before coming home. I wouldn't be able to wait for Lissa to be here, I would have to tell him when he came back.

Turning in for the night, I would start working on it tomorrow, I had the perfect idea of how to do it, I just had to get some help.

The next week flew by, I made several phone calls to people that would help me with my surprise for Dimitri. I could only hope that it worked out the way I hoped, it was a long shot, but if it failed, I had a backup. I hid all of the supplies under the bed so he wouldn't find it when he came home tonight. Tomorrow they play the Astros at home, meaning Ivan would be here too, perfect.

The whole family made our way to the field for the game, I went over to the third base dugout to see Ivan before it started.

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah, I have a signal for him when D gets up to bat. There is a catch though, we have to be winning or he won't do it."

"This is the only time I will ever say this, wipe the floor with them. I need him to get that hit, Ivan."

"We will try," he laughed.

"Thank you." I kissed his cheek and moved to leave.

"Oh, Rosie," I turned back, "Congratulations."

I just smiled and walked away.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

"Belikov!"

"Yes, Coach Banister?"

"I want you to DH (designated hitter in place of the pitcher) tonight. I know you have a long shot brewing in you, I want to see it."

"Yes, Sir."

I haven't had any luck hitting a home run yet, out of thirty plus at-bats, I have ten hits, four strikeouts, and no home runs. Everyone tells me that I am not doing bad, that it is a lot harder to get the ball out of the park in the Majors. Which, I can believe, but I couldn't help but feel I wasn't performing well. Being the DH tonight, all I had to do was bat, I would not play a position on the field. Maybe this way I can focus a little better, hopefully, tonight I will send one out.

Rose was still acting really weird toward me, hot and cold all the time and she seemed to be crying a lot more. I tried talking to her a few times, mainly while I was on the road, but she wouldn't say anything. I tried to push my worries for her away, for the time being, I needed to be ready to go soon.

"How are you feeling tonight, D?" Joey asked as we walked through the tunnel.

"Okay, I guess, I don't know if I should be happy about DH or not."

"For me, I don't like it, but I think it may be good for you. Gives you a chance to work on your batting without having to worry about playing a position, too."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"You got this, I expect a home run tonight." he had a twinkle in his eye. What was that about?

"I'm sure as hell going to try." I laughed.

It was the second inning when I first got to step in the box, Ivan was catching and giving me hell the whole time. Each pitch he had a comment to make. It was infuriating.

"Ivan shut the hell up man."

"If you would just hit the ball I wouldn't have shit to say." he laughed.

"I am going to kill you after the game, just fair warning."

I stepped back in and managed a base hit on the next pitch. Unfortunately, I didn't make it home, they pulled a double play to close out the inning.

I spent my time in the dugout watching my teammates. I focused on Joey and Mike, trying to pick up on their styles a little, learn from the way they play in real time. My next at-bat came in the fifth. We were losing right now, three to zero, the Astros were a hell of a team, I was surprised they weren't killing us right now. Not that I would say that to anyone, I wouldn't play again for weeks if I ever uttered those words.

I prepared to step into the box, "Not a fucking word, Ivan, got it." I growled at him.

"Understood, good luck, D," he put his hands up in surrender.

The first two pitches were outside, I watched them go by. Taking several deep breaths between pitches, keeping my head clear with every step out of the box. I wanted this hit badly, I had two runners on base, if I could get a home run, we would tie. Not that it would give us an automatic win, but I wanted to be able to contribute to the runs on the board. I don't have but two RBI's right now. (Runs batted in, meaning they drove a run in, not including themselves, on any hit.) Like I said before, I wasn't doing bad for a Rookie, but I wanted to be better than average.

Next pitch, was a little low, but still in the strike zone. I brought my bat around and heard the greatest crack in the world. You know that sound, when it is hit so hard you know it won't come down, yeah, that sound. I laid my bat down and watched as the ball sailed through the air. The fireworks started at the back of the stadium as the ball hit the stands. The TV screens lit up in the red and blue stripes displaying the HOME RUN sign.

I didn't know if I could round the bases, my heart was beating wildly in my chest. The announcer could be heard yelling that it was my first Major League home run, everyone in the stands was on their feet, applause roaring through the park. After the longest 360 feet of my life, I hit third base and headed toward home. I saw Ivan standing there with his helmet off, smiling at me as I ran down the line. I was so focused on hitting the plate I didn't see him looking toward our dugout.

He pointed over toward my team, all of them were yelling and clapping, but it was the ones that weren't in the dugout that caught my attention. Twelve of my teammates stood on the roof, a white card in their hands. My Roza stood in the middle of them, a board in hers. As I hit the plate, they lifted the cards in the air.

"RUN HOME PAPA!" was spelled out before me, I stopped moving. I looked to Rose in the middle holding a poster board.

"Future Rookie due March 2019"

I fell to my knees.

* * *

Author's Note:

* * *

As sad as I am to see this come to an end, I am excited about today. It is Opening Day for baseball, so I am home watching my Team, The Rangers of course, play the Astros. Yes, that is completely why I choose those two for the reveal game lol. So, I said in the last chapter I have a sequel in the works, I did put a hint as to the way that one will go in this chapter, anyone catch it? I look forward to sharing more of this story and the wonderful love of these two soon, Thank you again for all of the support.


	42. Part 4: Epilogue: I Saw God Today

_**Epilogue: I Saw God Today**_

 _ **Roughly 7 months later**_

 _ **RPOV**_

"I am never having sex with you again!" I yelled for the tenth time already in the last hour.

The contractions started about ten hours ago, but they were coming fast and hard now. Only a few minutes apart, hopefully, I would see my baby soon.

"I'm sorry, Roza. If I could take away the pain, I would."

"Oh shut up, Dimitri! God, I hate you!"

"I know." he laughed, the fucker laughed! "It will all be worth it in a few hours, love."

"HOURS!", I can't do this for hours, "No, tell them to get it out! NOW!"

The doctor walked in just then, "Rose, how are you feeling?"

"Like I am ready to stab someone if they don't get this child out of me soon."

"Ah, so you are right on track," he joked, what is with everyone trying to be funny! "Let's check and see how far you are, shall we?"

He reached between my legs, Dimitri watching him with an angry and jealous look on his face. He really hated that I had a male OBGYN but I love this doctor. He was very professional and treated me with respect. I also have not been giving Dimitri any for the last two months, I didn't want him anywhere near me.

"You're at an eight, Rose, it won't be long now. Who do you want in the room when you start pushing, we should have them here."

"Can you get Mama?" I looked at Dimitri.

"Of course, Milaya. Do you want your Dad?"

"No, I don't want him to see….that.." I gestured toward my nether regions.

Dimitri left and returned quickly with Olena in tow. She immediately came to my bedside and gave me words of encouragement.

"I don't want to do this, Mama!"

"It's a little late for that, Roza, you will be fine, I promise."

"But it hurts, I just don't want to feel it anymore." I started crying. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed my head.

"I am right here to help you, Dimitri too, it will be over soon."

"Can't they give her something so she doesn't feel so much pain?" Dimitri asked.

"It's too late for the epidural, she's already at an eight, it wouldn't take effect quick enough."

While listening to them, another contraction hit, this one was ten times worse than the others.

"FUCK ME!" God, this hurt so bad.

"Last time you said that this happened."

"Vzlomayte yeshche odnu chertovu shutku, i ya zakroyu vas" (Crack one more fucking joke and I will castrate you), I barked out.

Dimitri paled three shades, Olena laughed, the nurse just looked confused.

"I am sorry, Roza, I love you."

"I am sure you do, asshole."

Another hour of constant pain, Dimitri not speaking and Olena rubbing my large belly whispering Russian words, I felt a pressure in my lower body like I needed to go to the bathroom.

"Mama I need the bathroom." I tried to move on the bed a little, but another contraction hit and the pressure increased.

"Dimitri go get the doctor. You may be ready to start pushing, Roza."

Thank God, was all I could think, I wanted to meet my child, but I also wanted this pain to stop. Dimitri took off like a bat out of hell to find my doctor, returning quickly, with about six people following him.

The room quickly transformed, everyone was moving around in what looked like a synchronized dance. Dimitri and Olena were getting gowns put on them, the doctor was putting on extremely long gloves. One nurse unclicked the bottom half of the bed, bringing the stirrups up.

"You're already crowning, Rose, when you feel the next contraction I need to you to push as hard as you can. Remember to take short quick breaths, okay."

I nodded to him, taking Dimitri's hand in my right and Olena's in my left, I waited for the next contraction to come.

"Alright Rose, on three," the doctor said watching the monitor, "One, Two, Three, big push."

The sound that erupted from my throat terrified me, it was like a battle cry and banshee rolled into one. I pushed as hard as I could, I could feel my baby moving ever so slowly, too slow.

"Great Rose, let's do that again okay," he watched the monitor and counted again.

I repeated the process two more times, Dimitri telling me over and over how much he loves me, how proud of me he is. I wanted to stab him and kiss him at the same time.

"One more big push, Rose, and your baby will be here."

"Come on, Milaya, you can do this," Dimitri said one last time as I bared down and pushed again.

I felt the relief of pressure and the rush of fluids as my child made its way into the world. Then the most beautiful sound I have ever heard rang in my ears. I was crying listening to my baby take its first breath, looking at Dimitri, he had full tears falling down his face.

Dimitri cut the cord and the doctor brought my child to my chest. I looked at my beautiful baby, so -so precious, Dimitri gave me a sweet tender kiss on my lips.

* * *

 _ **DPOV**_

The multiple threats to my manhood didn't scare me, I knew she would yell and curse me, Mama warned me ahead of time. What did scare me, however, was that I was about to be a father. In a few short hours, there would be another life solely dependent on me, well, Rose and I. Would I turn out like my father, would I eventually turn to alcohol and abuse as an outlet? Would I abandon my family?

Abe and I talked a lot over the last seven months about my fears, but I couldn't shake them. He told me about how he felt the moment Rose was born. Like nothing on the earth mattered more than the little girl in his arms. The world started and stopped with her, he never knew how much you can love something so small.

I couldn't wait to feel that, I always knew I would love Rose no matter what, but now we would have a child that would do the same for us. Thinking back to when she told me, how she told me, I couldn't help but smile.

 _ ****Flashback****_

" _RUN HOME PAPA!" was spelled out before me, I stopped moving. I looked to Rose in the middle holding a poster board._

" _Future Rookie due March 2019"_

 _I fell to my knees._

 _"REALLY?" I screamed at the top of my lungs. With the crowd still roaring from the home run, and apparently, Rose's announcement was now showing on the giant screen at the back of the field. The noise around us was deafening.  
_

 _Ever so slowly Rose nodded her head, tears running down her flushed cheeks. I ran to the stairs that led up the to stands and climbed on the roof with her. My teammates yelling and clapping as I took my Wife in my arms and kissed her with every ounce of passion I held._

" _How long have you known?"_

" _A few weeks, I am sorry for keeping it, I just wanted you to be here for me to tell you."_

" _What about your birth control? Is this something you planned?" I wasn't accusing her of anything, I was really just curious. I never thought to use protection because she was on the pill._

" _I stopped taking them when I went home, I forgot about it all together after a while, I didn't even think about it when I went back to Nashville. I know this isn't planned.."_

 _I cut her off with a kiss, "That doesn't matter right now, We're going to be parents! IM GONNA BE A PAPA!"  
_

" _Yes, you are. Now get back out there and show our baby how you play ball, Papa."_

 _With one last kiss, I jumped down and went back to the dugout. Everyone patted me on the back and said their congratulations. I rode that high for the rest of the night and we won the game._

 _ *****End Flashback*****_

"Dimitri go get the doctor. I think you may be ready to start pushing, Roza." Mama said.

I took off out of the room in search for any nurse or doctor I could find. It didn't take long, there were three standing at the counter.

"My wife is ready to push, has anyone seen her doctor."

"We will page him now. Come on girls." the older of the nurses said. We all headed back to Roza's room and I watched as everyone moved around and prepared for my child's entrance.

The doctor came in and had Rose start pushing. I repeated over and over how proud I was of her, how much I love her and our child.

"One more big push, Rose, and your baby will be here.", the doctor instructed.

"Come on, Milaya, you can do this," I whispered once more as she pushed our child out.

The sound of my baby's first cry is a sound I will remember for the rest of my life. My heart swelled with love and pride. I couldn't stop the tears that fell while I looked at my newborn. I vaguely recall the Doctor asking if I wanted to cut the cord, but it was like my body moved without me telling it to. He placed my child in the arms of its mother. I kissed my Roza and looked at my beautiful baby.

"You are amazing, Roza, I love you."

"I love you too, Dimitri." she turned to kiss me again.

"You don't want to kill me anymore." I chuckled.

"No, but let's not do this again anytime soon, alright." she laughed.

"Deal."

Mama was taking picture after picture of us before the nurse took the baby to be weighed and measured. After getting the details, I made my way to the waiting room to make the announcement. Mama stayed with Rose while she would deliver the placenta and get the baby cleaned up.

I opened the door and everyone stood instantly.

"So?" Abe said expectantly, "Daddy's Girl or Mama's Boy?"

"Daddy's Girl!" I beamed. "Seven pounds and eight ounces, Nineteen inches long." I paused letting everyone oh and aw, receiving hugs and claps on the back from each person.

With my arm still around Abe, "Her name, Alexandria Jane Belikova."

* * *

Author's Note:

I know it was short, but I didn't want to give too much away, but I also didn't want to wait for them having the baby either. Thank You, thank you, thank you, I can not say it enough. You are all so wonderful and I have enjoyed taking this rollercoaster ride with you all. I am taking a cruise in a few weeks, I hope to have the sequel posted when I get back.

Much love to all,

Katarina


	43. Part 3 Song List

Part 3 Song List

Sorry, not a new chapter, just forgot to include this at the end.

I loved Her First - Heartland

Castaway - Zac Brown Band

Ride - Chase Rice

Look How Far We've Come- Imagine Dragons

Whisper- Chase Rice

Wild West - Runaway June

Forever Girl - Jon Langston

Gone, Gone, Gone - Phillip Phillips

Far Away - Nickelback

Heaven - Kane Brown

Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts

There Goes My Life - Kenny Chesney

I Saw God Today - George Strait


End file.
